ABSTRACT
It is hard to raise finance today without some form of environmental or social assessment. As will be discussed, the motives for such ‘sustainability’ considerations in financial investment decisions are mixed and consequences of, on the one hand, mainstream financial institutions increasingly recognizing environmental and social risks to profitability. For example, many commercial loans now routinely contain an environmental credit risk assessment and investment portfolios contain some form of environmental and social risk consideration (Pearce and Ganzi, 2003; Coulson, 2002). On the other hand, niche products have been developed to reflect an ethical preference for how money is invested and the consequences that investment has on the environment and society. For example, premium loan rates and conditions are offered on mortgages for environmentally sensitive home improvements and investors are offered a range of specialist socially responsible investment fund opportunities (Sparkes, 2002).
