Responsible Investment as Market Driver for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Socially responsible investment (SRI) has grown substantially over time. It has emerged as an important financial system driver for corporate sustainability management. The objective of this paper is to analyse the critical issues in relation to corporate sustainability assessment as has been promoted in the financial markets through the assessment structures developed by SRI actors, i.e. indices and rating agencies. The challenge of this paper is to discuss about the different limitations of this SRI metrics, and whether the different indices and rating agencies are consistent with a strong sustainability approach in the way they are measuring the sustainability of a company.

Keywords: corporate sustainability, socially responsible investment (SRI), sustainability indices, sustainable ratings and information provider agencies.