Environmental and social considerations rising steeply in investors' priorities

Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations are on the rise in a major way for investors, according to a May 2019 survey from infrastructure finance specialist Inframation.

90% of respondents, drawn from a range of disciplines including advisory, construction, debt investors and lenders, equity investors and institutionals, said ESG had become a more important part of their decision making in the past 12 months. 45% said brand and reputation was the main reason for that.

In other results, while more than a third of global survey respondents didn’t see ESG as “clearly defined” across their business, 62% already have a dedicated ESG department or employee. 80% expected standardisation around ESG reporting to improve over the next five years for infrastructure investors.