Influences | Blog
It’s impossible to illustrate on a timeline precisely when, where and how influences shape us. They are everywhere, continual and constant. Some are below.
At first glance, the initiatives that DGI supports may seem unrelated but they speak volumes about the esoteric mindset of the person connected to them all, as do the thoughts and collections below.
What’s Your Water Footprint?
How can one cup of tea contain 27 quarts of water? That’s not a math puzzle – that’s an accurate accounting of a “water footprint,” UN Water says. An group that coordinates the efforts of United Nations entities and [...]
Sustainable Investing: Would $1 Trillion Help Your Cause?
The world’s largest fund manager – Blackrock – has announced the company plans to increase its sustainable assets to $1 trillion within a decade. That can buy a lot of change! The company aims to become a leader in s [...]
You Think Your Water Bill is High?
Most of us in the US – at least for now – can take for granted the clean, affordable water that flows through our faucets. Millions of people in developing countries, however, find that getting water feels like highw [...]
The (Investing) Times, They are a Changin’
As impact investors, we’re happy to see Bloomberg News predict great things ahead in 2020 for this and related fields in finance. Bloomberg summarizes the action ahead in five categories: 1) Investors reconsidering w [...]
CEO Water Mandate: 2019 in Review
Looking for inspiration as we head into 2020? Check out the 2019 CEO Water Mandate Annual Report to learn how companies around the globe are joining together in this international water stewardship effort. To date, 1 [...]
Impact Investing: Inspiration for a New Decade
Reflecting on my goals and intentions for 2020 and beyond, I’m thinking about the words of Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) CEO Amit Boury. He’s an inspiring guy, in words and deeds. I saw him in at the 2019 GI [...]
Best and Brightest Are Learning Around the World
The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University is running some interesting programs teaching the business leaders of tomorrow through a global lens. Each year, 25 Daytime MBA students consult with social enterprise [...]
Putting Your Money Where Your Planet Is
The Economist is holding its 2020 “Investing for Impact” conference in New York City on February 13, 2020. The keynote speaker will be Jeremy Grantham, CEO of investment firm Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. (G [...]
Is Your Money Moral?
The Financial Times is hosting its “Investing for Good USA 2019” conference in New York tomorrow. The subtitle is “Mobilizing private capital to meet the SDGs,” referring to the United Nations’ Sustainable Developmen [...]
Insights from the GIIN Investor Forum 2019
Our colleagues at GIIN (the Global Impact Investing Network) continually develop and refine rigorous approaches to impact investing. In a new podcast interview, GIIN Co-founder and CEO Amit Bouri talks about scaling [...]
Sustainable Investing: The Enduring Revolution
We can stand by and watch the climate crisis unfold, or we can use impact investing to put our money to work to stop the advance. Leslie Samuelrich, who leads Green Century Capital Management, outlines in a new artic [...]
Stop Sending Plastic Fibers into the Environment
“At the cost of just one cup of coffee every week, you can stop sending plastic fibers into the environment,” Planet Care tells us on their website. We need to stop plastic pollution at every source, and our the expe [...]
Every Human Should be Alarmed by the Plastic Crisis in our Oceans
A powerful Washington Post editorial last week supported a bipartisan call by several senators to address the crisis of plastic pollution in our oceans. “Without change,” the senators warned, “there will be more plas [...]
85% of Investors are Interested in Impact Investing
Impact Investing 101 -- Impact investing. It’s a buzzword for sure – but do you really know what it means? We at DGI are big proponents of investing our money with the intention of creating a positive environmental e [...]
Rising Drought Risk Spurs Most Cash Into Water Funds in a Decade
Water shortages are plaguing countries around the globe, and the need for solutions creates strong opportunities for long-term investments. The water industry has traditionally been an under-invested sector, say Anis [...]
The Earth Needs a Line in the Budget
Who pays? Only the rich? You think so? Think again. "Don’t tax me--tax that fellow behind the tree," lamented U.S. Senator Russel B. Long. “One of the biggest impacts of globalization has been the democratization of [...]
Intel and Other Big Firms Begin to Fund Willamette River Restoration Work
Hats off to Intel Corp. for funding work by the Greenbelt Land Trust in Oregon to restore a lake’s natural habitat. The recent work at Horseshoe Lake near Corvallis, a 236-acre property, re-opened water access to its [...]
2019 GIIN Investor Forum in Amsterdam
We attended GIIN’s 2019 Investor Forum in Amsterdam last week with 1200 other impact investors and investment professionals. GIIN (the Global Impact Investing Network) produced two full days of panels, lectures and o [...]
Thinking About Becoming an Impact Investor?
The Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business is a leader on research about impact investment. The October issue of Life Science Leader features CASE facul [...]
Climate Emergency: Impact Report
Congratulations to our colleagues at Tribe Impact Capital, who have declared a “Climate Emergency” as they deliver their first climate “Impact Report” as part of their annual business report. Last April Tribe cosigne [...]
We’re Past the Days of the Abacus…
What are the impacts in impact investing and how to do know when these impacts have been made? Most impact investors know this kind of analysis is a growing and still imperfect science. We can’t do without it, but we [...]
The World is Under Extremely High Water Stress
The world is under extremely high water stress. This interactive article by Somini Sengupta and Weiyi Cai, published in the New York Times on August 6, details with data just how dire the situation is: "Countries tha [...]
Poor Water Quality Correlates with Stalled Economic Growth
I sometimes get the feeling that the United Nations’ SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are regarded in some quarters as a nice idea, or window dressing on global development inequities. But they’re actually more i [...]
Water Investment: Will Something Better Come Along?
As Christopher Gasson writes: "In the real world, World Water Week [25-30 August] exists because the ideas that come out of Stockholm and other meetings such as the World Water Forum [most recently in June 2019, in S [...]
The More The Merrier
Apollo Global Management evidently plans to establish an impact investing arm, anonymous sources told Bloomberg News this week. It’s great to see another major investment firm join the sustainable/make-a-difference c [...]
What is Impact Investing and Why Does it Matter?
Considering getting involved? This is one of the better primers we've read. With data from GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network) to data from Morningstar, start here. [...]
One Solution to the Problem of Microfiber Pollution
It was a bikini-top and cut-offs kind of night in Las Vegas. My high school girlfriend and I made our way down The Strip to the 2-story Westward Ho motel. For $19 a night, including the use of pools and hot tubs, we [...]
Financial Advisors: Friends or Foes of Impact Investors?
A recent Rockefeller Foundation report says many investors consider their financial advisors to be roadblocks to finding impact investment opportunities. In particular, investors cite “difficulty sourcing credible in [...]
Capitalism: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
Capitalism isn’t going away anytime soon. I think I speak for most impact investors when I say we believe it’s a key part of the solutions our world desperately needs. We’re in good company this week, as Bank of Engl [...]
Worthy Causes Can Still Make Money
It's important who's at the table in #impactinvesting, #venturecapital investing and the companies we back. This is a great story in Forbes by entrepreneur and investor Ashley Merrill about key roles women play. [...]
Impact Investing Is a Viable Strategy
As ESG Clarity says, "If fund managers needed a sign they should consider impact investing as a viable strategy – rather than just the latest fad – they may have just been handed it. Schroders, one of the UK’s larges [...]
Who Will Pay for Disasters Caused by Global Warming?
Weather changes caused by climate change are wreaking havoc on property worldwide, threatening the insurance industry and the global financial system that depends on it. In a new article in Foreign Policy magazine, h [...]
Conscience-Driven Investing in the Valley
The Mercury News, with its reporting on the pulse of Silicon Valley, talks with Oakland-based Kapor Capital about conscience-driven investing. Read the article here. [...]
India’s Water Crisis Could Be Helped by Better Building, Planning
As impact investors, DGI backs zNano WaterTech, a company that’s creating new types of nanofiltration membranes for use at industrial scale. Addressing water quality and access are key interests for other impact inve [...]
Demand for Environmental, Social and Governance Metrics in Funds
As the FT reports, "Money market funds that incorporate environmental, social and governance metrics are growing rapidly, with a spurt of activity by big asset managers such as State Street Global Advisors, BlackRock [...]
New Solar Technology Could Produce Clean Drinking Water for Millions in Need
Nearly 1 in 10 people across the globe lack access to safe, clean drinking water, UNICEF says. Collectively they spend 200 million hours each day collecting water from various sources. Surely there must be an easier [...]
Fresh Water Becoming a Good Investment
As Tim Gray writes in the business section of the New York Times, "Water is easy to take for granted. It falls from the sky, and, though it’s vital, we sometimes treat it as if it’s worthless. How often have you seen [...]
Oxford’s Tech Startups Talk Climate Change
We can’t solve today’s challenges with yesterday’s thinking. Through TED Talk-style pitching and networking, learn how Oxford’s tech startup founders are helping to fight climate change, at "Climate Change + AI" on 1 [...]
The Role of Trust in Impact Investing
Tania Carnegie, Leader and Chief Catalyst of Impact Ventures at KPMG in the U.S. talks about 'enlightened capital.' Read her thoughts here. [...]
GIIN’s 2019 Annual Impact Investor Survey
Authors Abhilash Mudaliar, Rachel Bass, Hannah Dithrich and Noshin Nova summarize their much heralded report for Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): "The 2019 Annual Impact Investor Survey demonstrates the increa [...]
Does This Make Me a Blogger?
I guess I’ve become a blogger. Never thought that would happen, primarily because I don’t have that much to say and what I do have is often offensive to some. So, read at your own peril. Full Disclosure (as the curre [...]
Impact Investing Summit 2019
Headed to London? Keynote and speakers at the Impact Investing Summit include UBS, IFC, NESTA, Oxford University, Ethex, MoJ, Big Issue Invest, and Big Society Capital. [...]
Favorite Thought Leaders and Influencers
Time is one of our least available resources. We hone in on people who deliver material and messaging that’s right up our alley. Find some favorites below. On Twitter? Follow some of our favorite impact investing tho [...]
Impact Investing Resources and Blogs
John Muir said “the battle for conservation must go on endlessly. It is part of the universal warfare between right and wrong.” Impact investing is our way of recognizing that we have the power to do something about [...]
Kudos to the Creatives
Diamond Gold Investors has been active for many years, but it took a team of talented people to help us communicate our work here. We’re happy to share contact information with any of our creative team for your mar [...]