R. Cohen: “Leading companies will have to measure their impact”
The visit of Sir Ronald Cohen, president of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG), during the Impact Week Of Impact Observatory by Transcendent & Ontier has made it possible to focus, through the media, on the importance of social and environmental impact as a lever of value for companies.
In this sense, the father of the concept of impact investing granted, during those days, a Interview for the newspaper El País, where he expressed his objective of publicizing how capitalism is changing, to become a more socially and environmentally friendly model. “Companies that want to maintain a leadership position will have to anticipate and start Measure your impact“, said Cohen.
The president of GSG He also spoke about the meetings he held with businessmen in our country, organized by the Impact Observatory promoted by Transcendent and Ontier.
As he transferred numerous managers from our country, the case of Tesla is a clear example of how companies that do not generate negative consequences for the planet are going to be the ones that are best valued.
The importance of transparency in companies when measuring impact
He also pointed to younger consumers as one of the levers that is driving change. More and more, new generations are becoming more reluctant to purchase products or services, invest or work in companies that are not committed to people and the planet, with a purpose that goes beyond economic benefit, they focus on their purpose in life.
This is why Sir Ronald Cohen insists on the importance of measuring impact, since investors seek to maximize their investment through impact. However, the president of the GSG assures that there is no transparency in the impact and that this will be the key to the change in this model of capitalism that we know so far. And the thing is that, he says, “the Impact Measurement is what will allow consumers and investors to compare between companies and make decisions based on the positive impact generated by each of them.”
Capitalism is changing towards a model that seeks the transparency of the impact generated, and this transparency will come through the measurement and monetization of the impact”; something that for the driver of Impact Investing will come in the next 2 to 5 years.
“If companies don't take advantage of the potential of technology to make both the positive impact generated and the contribution to finding solutions to humanity's great challenges scalable, they will miss a great opportunity,” concludes Cohen.