Increases in sustainable investments & savings give sustainability a prominent place in finance

We are proud to announce that our annual study on sustainable investment and savings has been published. This work analyzes the evolution of sustainable finance in Belgium since 1992.

2021 is marked by some important changes for the study. First, the study was previsouly known as MIRA, or ‘MilieuRapport' in reference to the long-standing cooperation with the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM). From now on, it will be named ERSIS: Ethibel Research on Sustainable Investment and Savings. Additionally, the Federal Institute for Sustainable Development (FIDO) has taken over the role of VMM and became our new partner for the elaboration of the report, alongside the University of Antwerp.

Despite these changes, the study exposes a continued growth. In 2020, the volume of sustainable investment has almost doubled to €96.3 billion. In addition, the ratio of sustainable products to total investment in investment funds (Ethibel SRI Market Index) increases significantly from 22.1% to 41.6%. While sustainable investments have been on the rise since 2013, the volume of sustainable savings had been declining for the last five years. However, sustainable savings are back on the rise in 2020. The volume of sustainable savings grew by €345 million, an increase of 14% in one year.

The second part of the study exposes the recent developments of the European regulation, the sustainability labels, and the sustainable pension savings. Finally, the study also discusses how sustainable finance increasingly looks at ESG issues in the corporate value chain and the issue of gender inequalities in face of the sanitary and climate crisis.

Read the full study here.

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