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Looking forward to what should be an interesoting conversation on how we can shape our economic system to deliver better environmental & social outcomes through impact investing #ImpactInvesting https://twitter.com/AsiaScotlandIns/status/1381582051728621576">https://twitter.com/AsiaScotl...
First, @mtpurbrick welcomes delegates to webinar and gives potted biographies of the two speakers, as well as describing the evolution from "social investments" to "impact investments" #ImpactInvestment
Next, @stewart_langdon & @sirronniecohen open a discussion about impact investment & how investment can do what Sir Cohen calls âdoing well, doing goodâ #ImpactInvestment
Cohen says that this career in #VentureCapital had seen âwell to do people helping other well off people become richerâ, which widened the gap between rich & poor #ImpactInvestment
Cohen noted that we had empowered people to enrich themselves & improve their own lives, but had not done something similar for those who wished to improve otherâs lives. Describes how this led him to create the Social Impact Bond #ImpactInvestment
Cohen says the #Coronavirus has caused a âparadigm shiftâ on thinking around investment, with inequalities being exposed by the virus #ImpactInvestment
Langdon & Cohen then discuss the concept of âImpact Capitalismâ. Cohen says âmeasurement of impactâ will be âthe next frontierâ for investors. Showing how investments will benefit lives & environment will allow investors to better judge impact of companies #ImpactInvesting
Cohen cites research showing that certain sectors âdeliver more in environmental damageâ than they do in stakeholder dividends. By moving towards âimpact-weighted accountsâ we can improve transparency and change investor & corporate behaviour #ImpactInvesting
Cohen argues âthis is the only way we can compare companies when it comes to environmental or social impactsâ #ImpactInvesting
Cohen argues that our post- #Coronavirus will see âa disruption to investorsâ portfolios not seen since the rapid uptake of technologyâ as innovative, socially-minded companies (eg TESLA) will take on established industries with a green or social agenda #ImpactInvesting
Langdon asks how Impact Investment goes beyond ESG. Cohen argues Impact Investment is more standardised, shows an intention to promote positive change & measures that progress #ImpactInvesting
Innovations such as Big Data also makes it easier to measure impact which, Cohen argues, is another reason why Impact Capitalismâs time has come #ImpactInvesting
Langdon asks if there is a âtrade offâ between sustainable business models & economic/profitable growth. Cohen argues there are numerous examples of the two âgoing hand in handâ #ImpactInvesting
Cohen gives an example of a company producing talking 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Brille" aria-label="Emoji: Brille">s that help visually impaired people âseeâ text by turning text to speech & reading texts into the ear of the wearer - âa profitable company doing a social goodâ #ImpactInvesting
Cohen also argues Impact Investing makes economic sense as unsustainable/polluting companies will fail to attract talent & ⎠become less innovative & becoming unattractive to investors #ImpactInvesting
Cohen argues that outcomes-based investment is much more impactful than traditional philanthropy. Gives the recipient a sustainable growth plan & provides a return on investment for investors - a âwin/win scenarioâ #ImpactInvesting
Cohen argues that there is enough robust data on impact bonds âto know what worksâ, believes now that such models will become more prolific as the global economy recovers from the #Coronavirus pandemic #ImpactInvesting
When asked about next steps, Cohen says investors need to familiarise themselves with the social & environmental impact of their portfolios & to actively engage with companies with a negative impact to see if they have active transition plans #ImpactInvesting
Turning to companies, Cohen believes that many more companies will publish transition plans, both in moving towards #NetZero, but also for greater #Inclusion & #Diversity in their workforce #ImpactInvesting
Finally, Cohen says consumers also have a role to play, & believes that many consumers will become more demanding of companies, particularly on issues of environmental impact of their products & services #ImpactInvesting
The webinar then moves on to a Q&A session #ImpactInvesting
When asked how to change corporate behaviour, Cohen believes many business leaders have âvague notions of doing *something*â but lack the tools to act. Impact investment will give businesses the tools to actively address negative impacts #ImpactInvesting
Cohen stresses that Impact Investing is moving away from a system of capitalism âwhere businesses cause problems in their search for profitsâ to one where it is âbusinesses that are proposing solutionsâ #ImpactInvesting
Cohen is asked how to differentiate between âinherently impactful sectorsâ (eg green energy) & âinherently negative sectorsâ (eg aviation). Cohen agrees that there will be different challenges faced by different sectors, calls for a pragmatic approach #ImpactInvesting
Using the example of #Aviation, Cohen agrees âwe do not want to get rid of flyingâ, but argues that innovative aviation companies (eg Hydrogen or âJet Zeroâ) would be much more attractive to investors vs polluting companies #ImpactInvesting
An attendee says many experts cited by Cohen are https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đč" title="Symbol fĂŒr MĂ€nner" aria-label="Emoji: Symbol fĂŒr MĂ€nner"> & how can impact investing be made more accessible to https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đș" title="Symbol fĂŒr Frauen" aria-label="Emoji: Symbol fĂŒr Frauen">. Cohen agrees current gender equality initiatives are âessential but not sufficientâ #ImpactInvesting
