Despite the “doing well by doing good” ethos of impact and ESG investing, a closer look reveals that investors’ prioritization of financial returns fuels the ongoing destruction of global ecosystems. A growing movement of investors – from philanthropic institutions to individual wealth holders – are looking beyond Wall Street and private equity to reimagine new investment models that align much more deeply with their values. Some foundations, like those in Justice Funders’ Just Transition Investment Community (JTIC), are experimenting with non-extractive financing, spending up to resource frontline communities, and scrutinizing philanthropy’s intention of existing in perpetuity. This session will feature a land justice and wealth redistribution lawyer, an Executive Director of a spend-up foundation fully redistributing and closing in 2024, and a funder organizer to discuss innovative strategies to unfetter the self-determination of frontline BIPOC communities. In particular, we will explore the regenerative possibilities of putting people and the planet front and center of our investment decisions and question investors’ insistence on maximizing profit.
Reimagining ROI: Toward a Just Transition in Finance
Track
Capital Flows for Impact: Dialogues Around the State of Impact Investment
Format
Panel (3 speakers)
Speakers
- NameMohit Mookim
- TitleLand & Redistribution Legal Fellow
- OrganizationSustainable Economies Law Center
- NameKat Gilje
- TitleExecutive Director
- OrganizationCeres Trust
- NameMaria Nakae
- TitleSenior Director of Just Transition Investing
- OrganizationJustice Funders
Description
Despite the “doing well by doing good” ethos of impact and ESG investing, a closer look reveals that investors’ prioritization of financial returns fuels the ongoing destruction of global ecosystems. A growing movement of investors – from philanthropic institutions to individual wealth holders – are looking beyond Wall Street and private equity to reimagine new investment models that align much more deeply with their values. Some foundations, like those in Justice Funders’ Just Transition Investment Community (JTIC), are experimenting with non-extractive financing, spending up to resource frontline communities, and scrutinizing philanthropy’s intention of existing in perpetuity. This session will feature a land justice and wealth redistribution lawyer, an Executive Director of a spend-up foundation fully redistributing and closing in 2024, and a funder organizer to discuss innovative strategies to unfetter the self-determination of frontline BIPOC communities. In particular, we will explore the regenerative possibilities of putting people and the planet front and center of our investment decisions and question investors’ insistence on maximizing profit.
