Environmental, social and governance investing, also known as impact or socially responsible investing, has become a popular concept. It’s based on awareness of the impact that firms have on the environment and on human wellbeing. Socially responsible investing recognises that these factors increasingly influence financial performance and thus investor returns.
Companies in the tobacco industry have some of the most serious impacts on wellbeing. Tobacco is a unique product in that it causes the premature death of about half of its users who don’t quit.
Organisations such as Tobacco Free Portfolios urge institutions not to invest in or provide financial services to tobacco companies. Their goal is a tobacco-free world. They argue that without financial and investor support, tobacco companies’ operations will become less sustainable.
