The research project led by Dr Stephanie Giamporcaro focuses on Environmental Finance and Environmental Investment. The research program aims thus to explore how environmentally responsible investment approaches are implemented currently in South Africa and how the implementation of these strategies in the country’s financial and investment sector can be facilitated in order to promote a sustainable growth in South Africa and a sustainable use of natural resources .
Since the eighties, financial markets, and innovative finance tools have played a crucial role in the shaping of our future world and particularly because worldwide retirement systems are more and more based on the investment of the employee saving on the financial markets through pension funds schemes. But innovative financial tools are not necessarily used in the most positive way as the 2008-2009 financial downturns demonstrate it.
Fortunately, financial players such as institutional investors can also implement innovative financial tools designed to reach a positive impact by facilitating responsible economic growth. These responsible financial tools include the Responsible/Sustainable Investment toolkit but also in regards to the specific Climate Change concern the field of Carbon Finance (Carbon funds). The term Sustainable or Responsible Investment designs a set of approaches defines an approach which includes environmental, social and governance consideration (ESG) along with financial criteria into investment decision making and active share ownership.
These investment strategies have been created and are more spread in developed economies but they are progressively taking root in emerging economies as South Africa. The research program aims thus to explore how ERI approaches are implemented currently in South Africa and how the implementation of these responsible investment strategies in the country’s financial and investment sector can be facilitated in order to promote a sustainable growth in South Africa and a sustainable use of natural resources.
The potential role of public policy makers is explored in order to establish if the current legislative framework in South Africa provide the enabling environment for ERI approaches to be implemented and further developed. In collaboration with Dr Martine Visser, behavioural enablers and obstacles to ERI approaches in the investment and financial sector will be analysed.
