Impact Investing

Investments that deliver positive social and environmental impact alongside a financial return are on the rise, with the market for impact investing quadrupling between 2015 and 2017, reveals a new report launched today by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) in partnership with the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) at Swinburne University. Benchmarking Impact: Australian Impact Investment Activity and Performance Report 2018 presents the findings from analysis of impact investment activity and performance for a data-set of 51 Australian impact investment products active at 31 December 2017, with a total product value of $5.8 billion (up from $1.2 billion at 30 June 2015). “The report reveals a diverse market delivering positive financial returns for investors while also benefiting the environment and impacting the lives of tens of thousands of people through employment pathways, education, and health services among other activities” said Simon O’Connor, CEO of RIAA. “With nearly $6 billion of capital now being put to work to deliver a better society and environment through impact investing, we are now getting an insight into the potential of capital markets as a force to be harnessed for achieving a more prosperous and sustainable Australia.”

The field of sustainable and impact investing has shown tremendous growth over the past few years. But there are still too many asset owners sitting on the sidelines; interested in impact, but not yet investing. To quote Bono – a recent high-profile convert to the cause – it seems that many “still haven’t found what they’re looking for”. So why does interest continue to outstrip activity? One reason is a dearth of scaled investment products. But there’s another significant problem: we still lack a common convention for understanding the impact in impact investing.

As part of our role supporting the development of the market for impact investing in Australia and New Zealand through RIAA’s Impact Investment Forum, we attended the Social Enterprise World Forum in Christchurch in September 2017. RIAA’s Impact Investment Forum Program Manager Carly Hammond shares her experience and take-aways from the event.

A new initiative, the Impact Investment Forum, has been launched today to support development of the growing impact investment market in Australia and New Zealand. The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has established the forum as demand and interest grows in impact investing across all sectors, including with government, philanthropy and the superannuation industry. Impact investing seeks to achieve measurable social or environmental impact alongside financial returns. RIAA’s Impact Investment Forum will act as a dedicated hub to connect and deepen the participation of organisations and individuals in this growing field. The forum will build on the foundational work of the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing and Impact Investing Australia to catalyse the market for impact investing. It will receive assets Impact Investing Australia has incubated, including the Impact Investor Survey and Benchmarking Report on impact investment activity and performance. As the market enters its next phase of development, RIAA’s Impact Investment Forum will take forward these critical pieces to develop market based data and practice. Together with other market based initiatives, this will complement the ongoing work of the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing and the initiatives Impact Investing Australia continues to drive, including Impact Capital Australia and the Impact Investment Ready Growth Grants. A new initiative, the Impact Investment Forum, has been launched today to support development of the growing impact investment market in Australia and New Zealand. The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has established the forum as demand and interest grows in impact investing across all sectors, including with government, philanthropy and the superannuation industry. Impact investing seeks to achieve measurable social or environmental impact alongside financial returns. RIAA’s Impact Investment Forum will act as a dedicated hub to connect and deepen the participation of organisations and individuals in this growing field. The forum will build on the foundational work of the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing and Impact Investing Australia to catalyse the market for impact investing. It will receive assets Impact Investing Australia has incubated, including the Impact Investor Survey and Benchmarking Report on impact investment activity and performance. As the market enters its next phase of development, RIAA’s Impact Investment Forum will take forward these critical pieces to develop market based data and practice. Together with other market based initiatives, this will complement the ongoing work of the Australian Advisory Board on Impact Investing and the initiatives Impact Investing Australia continues to drive, including Impact Capital Australia and the Impact Investment Ready Growth Grants. “RIAA’s mission is to see more capital being invested more responsibly. Through the Impact Investment Forum, we want to develop and amplify the significant work done by Impact Investing Australia, and help take impact investing to scale,” said RIAA CEO Simon O’Connor.