Transforming markets in the 21st century: Socially responsible investing as a tool

The evolution of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and its current discourse is premised on markets as a positive and creative means for allocation of resources. It is also founded on the view that the market mechanism is not a law of physics but instead a human-construct, which can be molded and tweaked to work in different ways. Thus SRI is of interest even to those who have a sharp critique of the prevailing form of market driven globalization but are keen to deploy varied means to contain its socially and environmentally destructive trends. SRI is merely one-dimension of the unfolding process of altering the operating system of Markets–so that externalities are more clearly accounted for and paid for, by both producers and consumers. This could potentially encourage more realistic pricing of both natural resources and nature's sinks, thus making way for sustainable prosperity.