Among other lessons learned during 2020 (and there certainly
have been many) is that environmental, social, and governance (ESG)
factors and responsible investment (RI) matter. A lot. According to
a 2020 Morningstar, Inc. report, global ESG assets reached US $
1.06 trillion as of June 30, 2020, with this staggering growth
continuing into 2021 and beyond.
The intertwined concepts of ESG and RI are rapidly evolving.
There have been many calls for the implementation of standardized
terminology and the industry is certainly making progress in this
regard but, for now, ESG and RI can mean a myriad of things –
along with the numerous variations on these terms, such as
"sustainable investing", "impact investing",
and "values-based investing", to name a few. The meanings
of these terms could range from funds entirely dedicated to
investing in assets that contribute to a designated social cause,
to funds that exclude investments in certain industries, to the
internal business
