This is your future on impact
Meg Massey, from the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, reflects on this year's Honors winners – the "leaders rewiring the global economy to benefit people and the planet".
The future is not going to be about how much money can be coldly made at top speed. The future is going to be written by the leaders rewiring the global economy to benefit people and the planet. You might be surprised to learn that there are a lot of them.
From Australia to Kenya, from the River Charles in Boston to the shores of the Ganges in India, people are taking their ideas and their capital and putting forward new ways of doing business. The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) honors the trendsetters in the impact space each year at our Impact Summit, taking place this year in New Delhi on 8-9 October.
This year’s winners map directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, collectively painting the picture of a future where our decisions are acknowledged for what they already are – intimately connected to our global future – and elevated accordingly.
We have asset owners like Ian Simmons and Liesel Pritzker Simmons, who have set an example for other family offices by going “all in” on impact investing. Their portfolio reflects a commitment to clean energy, sustainable timber, and other industries with a clear practical application to a sustainable future.
They have set an example for other family offices by going 'all in' on impact investing.
Asset managers like LeapFrog provide large-scale capital to healthcare and financial services businesses in emerging markets, recognizing that prosperity must be equitable to be sustainable – and that all people must be able to participate in our global economy.
Solutions like Narayana Health embody the sorts of business that need capital to scale. Their innovative network of high-quality, low-cost hospitals in India saves lives while revolutionizing service delivery.
As the impact revolution grows, so does the risk of 'impact-washing'.
How all of this social and environmental impact gets measured has long been a challenge for the sector; as the impact revolution grows, so does the risk of “impact-washing.” The Impact Management Project has worked tirelessly to connect the fragmented market of measuring impact into a coherent and end-to-end ‘rules of the road’ for impact management – a unique shot at agreeing on standards of practice that might ultimately become generally accepted globally.
Taken together, the 2018 GSG Honors winners represent the future: one where impact is central to our business models, our thinking, and our world.
