In India, small businesses and the unorganized informal sector account for a large part of the population. They employ more people, drive more innovation, and foster greater competition. You just can’t deliver these kinds of double bottom-line responsible outcomes from 8,000 miles away.
Impact
/'im-pakt / noun
With its rapidly expanding middle class, India is on track to become the third largest consumer market in the world. Despite this, it can be challenging for entrepreneurs to get a business loan from an Indian bank.
The Nuveen Private Markets impact investing team saw an opportunity to support an underserved part of the Indian economy — medium-sized enterprises, whose access to venture capital is most constrained — while pursuing an attractive, stable return to institutional clients. The opportunity was through a private equity investment in a non-banking lender offering fast and flexible working-capital loans to Indian entrepreneurs.
Glossary: G-N
Global Real Estate Sustainability Initiative (GRESI) and Benchmark (GRESB)
An investor-driven organization that assesses the sustainability performance of real-asset-sector portfolios and assets in public, private and direct sectors worldwide. The index offers environmental, social and governance data, scorecards, benchmark reports and portfolio analysis tools.
Green
Generally refers to the consideration of climate change and environmental impacts in portfolio construction, i.e., investments in clean tech, renewable energy and energy efficiency. See responsible investing – other RI approaches .
Green bond
A fixed income security for which the proceeds are used to fund or refinance specific climate-related or environmental projects
Human capital management
A comprehensive set of practices for recruiting, managing, developing and optimizing an organization’s human resources.
Human rights
Moral principles or norms that describe standards of human behavior and are protected as natural and legal rights in municipal and international law.
Impact
Seeking to drive positive environmental and social outcomes.
Impact investing
Investing to achieve positive social and environmental impacts. This requires measuring and reporting on impact metrics, KPIs and demonstration of intentionality of investee and investor.
Low carbon strategy
Seeking to lower a portfolio’s overall carbon footprint by favoring companies with lower current carbon emissions, no fossil-fuel reserves, or other green investments. Low-carbon strategies may satisfy clients seeking “fossil-fuel-free” and “green” investments. See responsible investing – other RI approaches .
Low-carbon economy
An economy based on low-carbon power sources that has a minimal output of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the biosphere, but refers specifically to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The Paris Agreement commits to the transition to a global low-carbon economy over the next 30 years, which many believe will bring substantial benefits both for developed and developing countries and avoid catastrophic climate change.
Materiality
Information that is of significance in the investment decision-making process. Increasingly, ESG issues are being viewed through a materiality lens.
Negative/norm based screening
Exclude sectors, companies, countries that do not meet minimum standards due to unacceptable downside risk or value misalignment. Also referred to as exclusionary screening.
Net zero carbon emissions
Achieved by reducing absolute emissions to the maximum level and balancing remaining emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting or sequestration) or by eliminating emissions from the atmosphere.
The term net zero is increasingly used to describe a broader and more comprehensive commitment to decarbonization and climate action.
