Another possible factor in the Business Roundtable’s new commitment to stakeholders — greenwashing.

Double- and even triple-digit growth in the amount of U.S. institutional assets in ESG investments shows no sign of slowing down, and public pension funds are leading the way.

Sustainable, responsible and impact investing assets reached $12 trillion in early 2018, according to the U.S. SIF Foundation’s biennial Report on U.S. Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends. That 38% jump from 2016 represents a compound annual growth rate of 13.6% since the U.S. SIF Foundation started measuring U.S. assets in 1995.

The lion’s share — $8.6 trillion — is managed on behalf of U.S. institutional investors.
Public pension funds and other publicly pooled portfolios accounted for 54% of the $8.6 trillion, followed by insurance companies at 37%, education-related organizations at 6%, and foundations and labor organizations at 1% each.

Another noticeable jump was the tripling of ESG-related alternative investment assets, which reached $588 billion by the start of 2018.

Public funds taking the lead in spectacular boom of ESG