Why ESG matters for agribusinesses?

Added on 16 March 2023

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ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. ESG allows socially conscious investors to invest their money in a tax-efficient and charitably capitalistic way. Major Asset Managers, including PIMCO and BlackRock, are focusing more on environmentally friendly and sustainable investments at the request of investors and clients.

According to Forbes, over $20 trillion in investments follow ESG and Socially Responsible investment style factors. This number continues to grow and is one of the fastest accelerating trends in the asset management community for style factor investing.

Scott Mather, PIMCO’s Chief Investment Officer for US Core Strategies, was named the Investment Leader of the Year in 2019 by Environmental Finance. He remarked on the growing investor demand for climate-linked investments, stating:

“Climate change is catalyzing innovative ideas from experts in every field. At PIMCO, we aim to do one thing exceptionally well: We build fixed-income portfolios to help clients meet their financial and non-financial objectives; increasingly, climate risk mitigation is an explicit objective for global investors. We developed a climate strategy that focuses on both the risks and, importantly, the opportunities associated with the transition to a net zero emissions economy.”

How Do Vertical Farming and Agriculture Factor into ESG?

You may wonder what this has to do with agtech and vertical farming. Like almost every other industry, there are environmental, social, and governmental considerations related to agriculture. Some might say our industry has more ESG considerations than most.