SRI in Latin America: Early Stages

The financial world of socially responsible investing (SRI) is gaining support in Latin America. Governments, banks and investors are beginning to understand the importance of shifting assets into activities which support the triple bottom line. Sustainalytics, a sustainability research and analysis firm, recently published Inversión Responsabley Sostenible, a report that describes the context, growth and opportunity for SRI in Latin America, dividing it into three levels of involvement: Brazil as the first group, Chile, Colombia, Perú and México as the second, and the remaining countries in the third.

Alejandro Navarro, Responsible Investment Associate of Sustainalytics, explains:

“SRI is in its inception in Latin America, and you can split activity into two main areas. Brazil has a long history in SRI. Mexico, Colombia and Peru have sustainability indexes and Chile is working on one. Sustainability isn’t questioned and the potential for SRI is huge, but the business case for ESG (environmental social governance) isn’t totally understood yet.”

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Julie is passionate about telling the story of where business meets good. She is the Founder of B Storytelling, a content development company specifically designed to help popularize the good happening through business. They do this by helping Benefit Corporations and other social enterprises identify, build and leverage their brands. Julie has an MBA in Managing for Sustainability from Marlboro Graduate School. She lives in West Palm Beach, Florida with her husband, Thomas.