PitchBook-2023年可持续投资调查（英）-2023.6-39页_3mb

Sustainable Investment Survey 2023: Key Insights and Analysis

Overview

The 2023 Sustainable Investment Survey, conducted by PitchBook, collected responses from 814 individuals, with 419 completing the survey. It examines trends, geographical differences, allocator perspectives, and challenges in sustainable investing, including ESG and Impact investing. Key findings highlight evolving adoption rates, regional disparities, and increasing polarization.

Key Trends

• Adoption Growth: Integration of sustainable investment principles increased from 30% in 2021 to 37% in 2023, while disinterest rose from 9% to 17% of respondents.
• Time Factors: More respondents began sustainable investing 2-5 years ago (53% growth) or over five years ago, indicating companies are farther along in adoption journeys.

Geographical Insights

• Regional Breakdown: Europe showed leadership in adoption (42% fully integrated), while North America ranked highest in disinterest (24%). CSAC and Asia-Pacific demonstrated faster growth, with CSAC leading in early integration.
• Balanced Participation: Respondents from all regions and types (LPs, GPs, Both, Other) contributed, providing broad representation.

Allocator and Manager Views

• Investor Priorities: Most allocators prioritize sustainability alongside financial performance, with ESG concerns influencing 61% of investment decisions.
• Manager Adoption: Asset managers integrate ESG and Impact strategies across asset classes, with VCs and non-VCs at similar stages but differing in timelines; only 7% of managers have no sustainable approach yet.

Contrasting Views on ESG and Impact

• ESG Philosophy: Split between value-aligned investors and performance-focused detractors; regulation and political debates exacerbate this divide.
• Impact Investing: Increasingly popular, with energy and climate being top focus areas; many underestimate its scale, with North America leading in offering Impact strategies exclusively.

Measurement and Challenges

• Data and Definitions: Primary challenges include unclear Impact definitions and measurement, leading to difficulties in benchmarking and data collection. Half of Impact investors don't measure outcomes, and custom frameworks often lack standardization.
• Perception Issues: Concerns about sustainable investing harming returns are growing, with some viewing ESG as ineffective or "weaponized," referenced in open-ended responses.

Social and Political Landscape

• Polarization: Loud debates and politicization, especially in the US, amplify divides; economic events like climate crises and geopolitical instability drive increased focus or withdrawal.
• Influence of Events: Allocators adapt to events like the energy crisis, climate policies (e.g., US Inflation Reduction Act), and sociopolitical risks (e.g., US political shifts), leading to varied investment priorities.

Future Outlook

• Desired Changes: Supporters push for standardized ESG/Impact frameworks, convergence via regulation (e.g., SFDR), and elimination of greenwashing to enhance credibility.
• Ongoing Debates: Moderates and opponents call for reduced regulation and market freedom, while others envision sustainable investing as mainstream or eradicated, fueled by research gaps and ideological conflicts.

Staying Informed

• Sources: Europeans rely on webinars, conferences, and regulators; North Americans prefer industry publications and tools like UN SDGs. Organizations like UN PRI and GIIN remain popular, but no single body dominates.

Conclusion

The survey underscores sustainable investing's rapid evolution amid challenges like measurement complexity and polarization. Increased adoption and focus on Impact investing coexist with growing concerns about performance impacts and regulatory burdens, pointing to a need for industry-wide education and standardization to address current divides.