International Corporate Responsibility Series

Volume 2, 2005

Perspectives On International Corporate Responsibility

Beyond Good Intentions
New Directions for Investing in Sustainability

This paper examines the rise of socially responsible investment (SRI) as a sustainable finance mechanism and discusses the potential of SRI in steering the banking and financial services industry toward a more socially responsible and environmentally sound model of commerce. I argue in this paper that the potential of SRI to serve as a sustainable business mechanism to steer the global financial market toward a new ethical architecture depends on two related factors: (a) continuing institutional and social pressures for greater corporate transparency, and (b) the ability of SRI to become a viable financial instrument outside its traditional markets in emerging and developing economies.