US$5 trillion (RM20.2 trillion) to US$7 trillion — that is the estimate of annual investment across sectors and industries that is required annually to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) by 2030, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2014. Tons of opportunities, then. Unfortunately, this is not quite the case, as a considerable amount of the SDG needs are in infrastructure that requires a significant long-dated debt that typically comes from banking or debt capital markets. Most of the investment needs will be in emerging markets, which do not necessarily have the set-up to issue in capital markets effectively. With infrastructure investment often in US dollars, it means banks, development banks and certain funds will take the lion’s share of these opportunities, and maybe later down the line share it with retail investors through investment vehicles. So, what is the growth opportunity that we are seeing for everyday companies? Well, we need to move away from the highlights and dig deeper. Is sustainability an intrinsic growth driver for companies? Does capital seek companies that are sustainably more ready? Here is a simple truth: All else being equal, people will take the progressive option over the neutral one. Meaning, you would buy the same article of clothing from a merchant who employs disadvantaged people over the merchant who is doing a regular clothing business. Similarly, given a choice between an e-hailing company that provides a diversity of cars over those that use only hybrid or electric cars, you would go with the latter.

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The Edge Market