Microfinance is an idea whose time has come.
Nothing is costed properly and it's destroying the earth. We need to re-educate people that what is good for the planet is good for the financial system.
As long as you have a system that is based on the rational that if you are making money you are thereby making a contribution to society, these financial rogue practices will continue.
Banks and investors have poured money into dirty energy and high-carbon for decades. While no single policy is a magic bullet for the climate crisis, there is also no way of solving it that doesn't involve a fundamental reimagining of the role of our financial system.
Only a strong economy can create higher asset values and sustainably good returns for savers.
I believe strongly that we need a finance industry that is good for the economy, and I don't think anybody would argue that during the eight years leading up to the Great Recession, a lot of bets were made [and] risks taken that weren't good for the economy.
Japan's future prospects depend on ensuring fiscal sustainability over the long term.
Impact investment is an important business driver, and more importantly, it is a business driver because clients want it.
At Domini, we believe it's possible to make money and make a difference at the same time.
[S]ound policy condemns the practice of accumulating debts.
Emerging investors want to invest differently. They want to have their dollars - their investment dollars - do double duty.
I was really interested in a pretty simple thing: what happens when someone tries to introduce moral considerations into Wall Street, what happens when someone wants to actually demand of himself and those who work with him that what they do is not just profitable but good and useful.
I am trying to make sure that I don't spend on ridiculous things, so that after all this YouTube thing goes, I'm not left there, like, 'Uh oh, I have nothing.'
Corporation 2020 is an indispensable contribution to the global transformation of finance and corporations as humanity re-integrates centuries of knowledge and continues its inevitable transition from the first Industrial Era... Pavan Sukhdev is a powerful standard-bearer leading us to the cleaner, knowledge-rich Green Economy globally, and this book provides a benchmark and guide to this better future for humanity.
What attracted me towards microfinance is it's a very sustainable business, which has an impact on people's lives yet it can be very profitable.
Green is not just about renewable energy. It's also about creating a new direction for the whole economy. This requires government to step up, not step back, creating the kinds of mission-oriented public organizations that will enable us to tackle climate change - as ambitious as those that got us to the moon. It also requires the financial sector to be less short-term since we know that short-term finance has distorted incentives and directions in areas like biotechnology.
As for companies invested in the space - I think its important to distinguish between a good investment and a material climate change technology - you can have the first without the second, even in the "clean tech" space.
Impact investing can be a powerful instrument of change.
If the climate were a bank, they would already have saved it.
We're now moving into a stage where the green economy isn't just going to be the place for people to spend money. It's going to become a place where a lot more people can earn money, and also save more money. These kind of solutions require collective action and government action. So as an advocate for government change, even somebody like me gets to have a role.
First, you should take money and have plenty of money fueling your tank. But money becomes dangerous if you assume it's going to keep coming. Make sure you can get your burn rate to a sustainable level if you hit the brakes hard, within 90 days.
We should be moving toward local currencies not global or European currencies.
Without getting into brothels, there are ethical capitalists the problem is that there aren't enough of them. It is not "just a few bad apples" that have been evident in our corporations, our investment bankers and our mutual funds, but so many that one has to concede that the barrel itself needs some work.
Regulatory reform must move beyond limiting the damage that the financial sector can do and ensure that the sector genuinely serves society.
It's not about just how to maximize your finances but make sure it lasts a long time.
