Impact investing is a hot topic, but Version 2.0 would improve the odds.

By Dr. Matthew Kiernan

“Impact Investing” is generating an enormous amount of “buzz” these days – even if it is talked about much more than it is practiced. It has become particularly popular among foundations, endowments and high net worth individual investors. While the precise meaning of the term is still being defined and debated, in essence, impact investing is a style that explicitly pursues social and environmental objectives as well as purely financial ones.

In many cases investors are willing to sacrifice some of the latter to achieve the former. Typically, impact investing occurs in the emerging markets, in private transactions and at a small scale: to date the average investment has been in the USD 1 million range. Typical projects might include the purchase and distribution of cleaner-burner cooking stoves or solar-powered lamps, to rural villages in Africa, Asia or Latin America. All very good stuff, but…

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Shareholder activists are pointing the way to greater environmental responsibility by gas drillers.

By Sanford Lewis, Attorney

Natural gas often is touted as a bridge fuel, leading a transition to cleaner energy sources. But recently it also has a lot of attention for the extraction practice known as “hydraulic fracturing” or “fracking,” which has stirred environmental controversy and threatens to undermine its growth as an energy source. Under pressure from investors and environmentalists, some of the smaller independent energy companies have begun to improve disclosures and environmental precautions. In contrast, the energy giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron are more resistant and face resolutions in their upcoming shareholder meetings. Can they learn from the best practices of the independents?

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