The Colour of Money

The Colour of MoneyGreen Cities 2015 offers investors a way to know that they’re doing the right thing, for themselves and for the planet, says Romilly Madew, chief executive of the Green Building Council of Australia.Now, more than ever, people want to know where their ‘stuff’ comes from, how projects are bankrolled and where their funds are invested.The demand for transparency – from paddock to plate, from factory to shop floor – is sending shockwaves along entire supply chains. Selling a product, be it a pair of shoes or a building, is no longer about being the biggest, fastest or cheapest, but about what’s best.Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues such as climate change were traditionally considered extra-financial risks, somehow secondary to the serious business of investment.But the world is changing. Investors are more aware than ever that ESG failures can erode or even extinguish their returns.In this context, ESG has become the short-hand for responsible investing. AMP Capital, for instance, says that identifying ESG risks is an “integral part of delivering investment performance”.Property investors are increasingly looking for assurance through certification, turning to Green Star, NABERS Energy or other rating systems to help them decide where to splash their cash.The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, which now reports on $2.1 trillion in value, finds that more than half of those companies surveyed include certified green buildings in their portfolios.The signposts all point in one direction – towards the colour of money being green.A session at Green Cities 2015, ‘The Colour of Money’, will feature advisers and analysts explaining how they value investments and why their investors are taking sustainability seriously.Author Herman Melville once said: “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibres connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibres, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.”The world is interconnected, and investors increasingly understand that ESG is the next evolution of investment.Green Cities 2015, Australia’s premier sustainability conference, runs in Melbourne from March 17-19.For more information, go to www.greencities.org.au