George Serafeim, Charles M. Williams Professor at Harvard Business School, has collaborated with Terra Alpha Investments since our firm’s founding. In 2017, George joined our Advisory Board. Ever since, his perspectives on the reasons for and benefits of integrating material ESG factors into business and investor decision-making have influenced the design and implementation of our investment process and analytical frameworks.
In a recent article published by Institutional Investor entitled “Where ESG Fails”, George and co-authors Michael Porter and Mark Kramer articulated some powerful findings that should interest all investors, especially those with long-term time horizons. They stated, “….there is compelling evidence that superiority in identifying and harnessing selected social and environmental issues relevant to the business can, over time, have a substantial economic impact on companies and even entire industries.”
Terra Alpha’s own investment philosophy closely aligns with these thoughts. In George’s own words, “There are not many investment firms that truly understand the value of long-term investing in companies that seek to deliver societal value. Terra Alpha has been committed to this since it was founded through rigorous analysis of environmental data and trends that affect the competitiveness of organizations.”
In the article, the authors add an important observation, “Shared-value investing, which seeks out companies that achieve excellent economic performance by innovating to meet important societal needs, will help restore the inherent power of capitalism to make things better while creating powerful incentives for companies to innovate.” Our global challenges require leadership across our economy in the form of new technologies and new business models. This will create opportunities for investors with long-term perspectives.
We share the article with you as it highly aligns with our firm’s purpose: to create better outcomes for investors and society. Simply put, we aim to deliver better returns, a better environment, and a better world.
To read the full article, click here.