https://unifyimpact.com
What is ESG? Sustainable investing strategies consider environmental, social and governance factors as part of a stock’s performance. ESG is an acronym for environmental, social and (corporate) governance: factors that pertain to the impact a company is having on the world.
Historical context on Sustainable Investing In the past, ESG factors were considered non-financial. An “exclusionary” investing strategy meant avoiding sin-stocks (such as alcohol, firearms, cigarettes and large polluters), companies that engage in harmful activities. Companies like Phillip Morris and Remington were recommended as “good” based on the return on investment, but ethical investors not to include those stocks in their portfolio. Later, “exclusionary investing” gave way to “socially responsible” investing strategies. Where investors measured success based on a company’s mission rather than financial returns. “Sustainable investing” strategies consider ESG factors alongside financial returns to achieve BOTH values-alignment AND returns on investment. UnifyImpact focusses on Sustainable Investing. How to understand ESG data and Sustainable Investing Every company has an ESG story to tell. Companies can be strong in one area and weak in another. Defining what goes into each category of E, S and G is not simple, but overall, data is beginning to show a strong correlation between a company’s performance in ESG factors and financial performance. Companies with high ESG scores don’t always grow faster in the short term, but these companies are better able to plan for the future, navigate crises and manage an effective workforce. These behaviors reflect the very real-world issues that affect all of us. Every issue affecting our reality – the unbridled growth of the pandemic, the wild fires, race and gender equity – have been mirrored in company performance – from hiring practices, unabated pollution, fracking, even cryptocurrencies. Every company has a sustainability footprint. UnifyImpact is an ESG education and investing digital platform. We offer Millennials and Gen Z natives the power to align their investments with their values by seeing the ESG scoring of individual companies in eight areas of impact. Until now, this company-specific scoring was available only to institutions and financial analysts. Through UnifyImpact, everyone can have access to the data that can inform us on a company’s sustainable footprint. Our platform is data rich with partnerships in both sustainable and financial market data providers.
Our app educates users on individual company performance in areas of environmental, social and governance. Users choose from eight impact values in order to tailor their in-app experience to their passions.
Our 8 Impact Values are: ● Climate Action ● Resource Use ● Pollution Management ● Human Rights ● Public Health ● Gender Equity ● Corporate Responsibility ● Collaboration and Transparency