Investing for Global Impact: A Power for Good 2021

Dr Andrea Illy is the chairman of illycaffe SpA, a family-owned business and the first B Corporation coffee company in Italy. Illy, who is a trained chemist, environmental expert and innovator, has made illycaffe synonymous with sustainability and quality.

The Albert family, the fifth-generation Australian music publishing dynasty that has devoted itself to impact investments, says clearly defining what positive impact means to them helps in their search for new opportunities, in benchmarking performance and in pursuing high returns.

The Sydney-based family behind their 140-year-old music company Alberts has two allocations in its portfolio which have become entirely impact focussed—the Alberts Impact Ventures fund and The Tony Foundation portfolio.

Adiraj Gupta, the next generation co-founder of startup incubator Impact Launchpad, says interest in sustainability has increased among investors in the wake of Covid-19, but calls for greater co-ordination and data gathering to deliver real positive change.

The digital native entrepreneur said the transparency of blockchain and accurately being able to map actions to outcomes will go a long way in making a difference in sustainable and impact investing.

Family principals engaged in sustainable investing welcome the rising interest among private wealth holders in investing to tackle the climate crisis, but some warn real world action must follow and insist families can take the lead in positive change.

Some families said they see environmentally sustainable investing as a way for private and public investors to collaborate. Others see the discipline as a core family business value, or as part of a broader trend in environmental, social and governance investing over centuries.