Focusing on four major sets of investment principles – the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Equator Principles, the Environmental and Social Principles of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises – this report by Just Economics takes a first step in assessing the content, take-up, implementation and impact of investment principles.
The study finds that the main impact of investment principles on sustainable development so far is mitigation of the worst effects of investments rather than a shift in the underlying basis of decision-making. Investors are generally unwilling to compromise high returns for improved sustainable development outcomes.The report calls for better monitoring and measurement of the impact of investment principles, as well as a better understanding of the broader institutional changes required to support them so that the next generation of investment principles can be more ambitious and bring about investment that supports, rather than undermines, sustainable development.
Technology for Good supports NGOs worldwide to increase their reach by providing subsidised software, funding and technical support. In 2017, Just Economics worked with Microsoft Philanthropies in Asia to assess the impact of the programme. The evaluation included extensive fieldwork in Asia.