Impact Investing at a Crossroads: A Pathway Forward

There is no questioning the enthusiasm that welcomed impact investing as an alternative approach to making investments: Take account of both financial returns and the social and environmental impacts. But there is no denying that the approach has fallen well short of expectations.

Impact investing has shown great promise as a major transformational investment paradigm, but in practice under-performing woefully and its prospects are dimming: It comprises less than 1% of the world’s equity investments, and too many claims of success are more about marketing and reputational value than hard evidence of positive social impacts. Drawing on over a decade of hands-on experience, this book presents a unique combination of a how-to guide and a reimagining – new models, frameworks, techniques, and tools – of what impact investing could be and could accomplish. It points to a new direction for future impact investments: achieve higher financial returns, more positive social and environmental impacts, and lower risks than conventional investments. Readers will learn what actions should be taken at each stage of impact investing, and which models, analytic frameworks, and techniques to use – and how to use them – for optimal results.

This book offers a step-by-step guide to how impact investing can achieve its promise of transforming global investments into a powerful positive force for change. It is an inspiring and comprehensive resource for anyone who wants to understand how impact investing works and how it can be done better, from professionals at foundations, international NGOs, consulting firms, and government agencies, to students of finance, public policy, ESG, sustainability and international development.

John J. Forrer, Director, Institute for Corporate Responsibility; Research Professor, Strategic Management and Public Policy; and Associate Faculty, School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University. He leads the activities of the ICR and teaches, and conducts research on corporate social responsibility, economic sanctions, sustainable supply chains, public-private partnerships, business and peace, ESG and impact investing.

Terry R. Gray has been working internationally in the field of impact investing for the past fifteen years. He is currently the Executive Director at Impact Bridges Group, a professional service social enterprise, that specialize in investment appraisal, risk analysis, impact measurement and management of social and economic development projects and small and growing business.