Positive Impact Investing

This book illustrates the impact that a focus on environmental and social issues has on both de-risking assets and fostering innovation. Including impact as a new cornerstone of the investment triangle requires investors and clients to align interests and values and understand needs. This alignment process functions as a catalyst for transforming organizational culture within an organization and therefore initiates the external impact of the organization, but also its internal transformation, which in turn escalates the creation of impact. Describing how culture is the social glue permeating all disciplines of an organization, the book demonstrates how organizational alignment can be achieved in order to allow strategic speed, innovation and learning, and provides examples of how impact can be achieved and staff mobilized It particularly focuses on impact investing, impact entrepreneurship, innovation, de-risking asset, green investment solutions and investor movements to counteract climate change and implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting culture, communication, and  strategy.

Karen Wendt is Multiple Entrepreneur, Business Angel, Impact Investing Advisor and scientist lecturing at various universities worldwide about foreign direct investing and impact investing. She has worked as a change, thought and action leader in international investment banking and was among the thought leaders in designing the Equator Principles, the first industry wide framework for de-risking assets form environmental, social and governance risks, creating the first level playing field in finance for eco-social impact measurement and management. The Equator Principles team was assigned the prestigious Financial Times Sustainability Award. Karen has been introducing and using mediation alongside project structuring as a facilitation tool to prevent problems becoming entrenched disputes that may delay or hinder finance.  She introduced and led the Extra-Financial Risk Management Team of a top tier global bank, where she introduced the Equator Principles, Karen started her career at a major German Bank after working for the European Commission. She holds an MBA from the University of Liverpool. As Member of the Steering Committee of the Equator Principles Financial Institutions Association since its inception. she has undertaken research on impact investing, impact entrepreneurship, investment banking culture, the role of alignment of interests and values and the impact of leadership behavior on trust and value identity and stakeholder engagement. She is the editor of the Sustainable Finance and SDG Economics Book series with Springer Nature.