To Do Good and To Do Well: The Experience and Prospects for Public Market Renewable Energy Infrastructure Investors

31 / 12 / 22 - 1 minute read

Working for good, as well as for profit, has been an aspect of doing business for as long as business has been done. There have always been those who have sought to create businesses that provide benefits to workers, customers, and the world as a whole. The invention and mass production of microwave ovens, the construction of high-quality factory worker housing by 19th century employers, the building of cities with both beauty and utility themselves are all examples. This view of business as a positive force in the world has waxed and waned over the centuries, but has always been with us.

What is relatively new, however, is the ability of broad-market investors to participate in businesses through shareholdings. In the past, investor groups were generally limited to small groups of joint investors, often merchants themselves, who sought to benefit from a particular business endeavour. The broadening of this business investment base to ordinary shareholders who can invest small fractional amounts in publicly traded companies, or in investment funds, has meant that, in theory, many more can enjoy the benefits of business endeavours that satisfy both profit-seeking and world improvement goals. Companies that operate renewable energy businesses, or funds consisting of renewable energy companies, are a classic example of those that seek to both achieve a profit on their investment and to provide a positive contribution to the world. For renewable energy operators, this positive is actually the neutralisation of a negative: by substituting for oil & gas extracted from the earth and burned into its atmosphere, renewable energy improves a situation that would otherwise be worse, for the same amount of energy consumption. 

"Companies that operate renewable energy businesses, or funds consisting of renewable energy companies, are a classic example of those that seek to both achieve a profit on their investment and to provide a positive contribution to the world"

Authors

John O'Brien

Risman Cornelius