Investment today has evolved from the basic, conventional approach of the past. Investors have come to recognize the importance of sustainable investment and are more frequently considering environmental and social factors in their decisions. Yet the complexity of the times forces us to recognize and transition to a third stage of investment practice: system-level investing.
In this paradigm-shifting book, William Burckart and Steve Lydenberg show how system-level investors support and enhance the health and stability of the social, financial, and environmental systems on which they depend for long-term returns. They preserve and strengthen these fundamental systems while still generating competitive or otherwise acceptable performance.
This book is for those investors who believe in that transition. They may be institutions, large or small, concerned about the long-term stability of the environment and society. They may be individual investors who want their children and grandchildren to inherit a just and sustainable world. Whoever they may be, Burckart and Lydenberg show them the what, why, and how of system-level investment in this book: what it means to manage system-level risks and rewards, why it is imperative to do so now, and how to integrate this new way of thinking into their current practice.
"Burckart and Lydenberg are the Wayne Gretzkys of investing: Showing us not where investing is, but where it's going." --Jon Lukomnik, Managing Partner, Sinclair Capital; Senior Fellow, High Meadows Institute
Steve Lydenberg is the founder of TIIP and also serves as partner, strategic vision, of Domini Impact Investments. Lydenberg was a cofounder of KLD Research and Analytics Inc. and served as its research director from 1990 to 2001. From 1987 to 1989, he was an associate with Franklin Research and Development Corporation (now known as Trillium Asset Management).
"21st Century Investing has to be top of mind for any long-term capital allocator. Burckart and Lydenberg's work is essential reading for any investor that is serious about enabling the transition to a more sustainable global economy." --Kirsty Jenkinson, Investment Director, Sustainable Investment & Stewardship Strategies, California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)
"Burckart and Lydenberg are the Wayne Gretzkys of investing: Showing us not where investing is, but where it's going: To system-level investing. Even more importantly, they show us how to get there." --Jon Lukomnik, Managing Partner, Sinclair Capital; Senior Fellow, High Meadows Institute
"Burckart and Lydenberg set out to progress investor thinking about how they can manage their impact on the social and environmental systems in which they operate. It is an important and timely contribution to the investment canon." --Luther M. Ragin Jr., Former President and CEO, Global Impact Investing Network; Former Chief Investment Officer, FB Heron Foundation