Impact investments: a call for (re)orientation

TLDR

Practitioners and academics use varied terms for sustainability investments, with “impact investments” focusing on transformational change but often conflated with ESG investments, risking impact washing. The authors aim to reorient impact investing by developing a new typology that distinguishes impact‑aligned from impact‑generating investments. They construct this typology by categorizing investments into impact‑aligned and impact‑generating types, thereby clarifying the definition and scope of impact investments. The resulting typology offers a precise definition of impact investments and establishes a foundation for future research, debate, and policy in the field.

Abstract

Abstract Practitioners and academics have been using different terms to describe investments in the sustainability context. The latest inflationary term is impact investments—investments that focus on real-world changes in terms of solving social challenges and/or mitigating ecological degradation. At the core of this definition is an emphasis on transformational changes. However, the term impact investment is often used interchangeably for any investment that incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. In the latter instance, achieving transformational change is not the main purpose of such investments, which therefore carries the risk of impact washing (akin to “green washing”). To offer (re-)orientation from an academic perspective, we derive a new typology of sustainable investments. This typology delivers a precise definition of what impact investments are and what they should cover. As one central contribution, we propose distinguishing between impact-aligned investments and impact-generating investments. Based on these insights, we hope to lay the foundation for future research and debates in the field of impact investing by practitioners, policymakers, and academics alike.