Reporting on Impact with David Bank

Lately, leading journalists in the impact space have been tracking the shift from ESG to impact, which is roughly the shift from operational metrics to actual social outcomes, and from these outcomes to broad-based systemic transformation. In a recent post, Impact Alpha’s CEO and editor David Bank writes, “Every day, with their commitment and their capital, impact investors and other Agents of Impact are writing a new narrative for business and finance. As the world grapples with COVID and climate, racial injustice and income inequality, it’s arriving at purpose-built vehicles and approaches incubated, in some cases for decades, by communities and impact investors. Impact investing and sustainable finance are generating prototypes for a new financial system and a new economy.”

Moreover, as the universe of social impact continues to grow exponentially, particularly with regard to impact investing and ESG capital inflows, concerns about “impact washing” have also grown. While impact measurement and management has been evolving successfully to meet these concerns on a fund and individual business level, the role of impact media and journalists — as discerning researchers and storytellers of the space — has emerged as a vital touchstone for the impact space’s authenticity. In this essential role, the onus is placed on these journalists to look critically, beyond the hype.

In this program, Impact Entrepreneur’s Laurie Lane-Zucker welcomes Impact Alpha’s founder and CEO David Bank to discuss the role of impact journalism in helping to inform and inspire, as well as supporting the growth, sophistication and rigor of impact investing and conscious business. We will also discuss the latest investment trends in the age of Covid, including:

• Catalytic capital

• Climate finance

• Small business financing

• Racial justice

• ESG

Laurie Lane-Zucker is Founder and CEO of Impact Entrepreneur, PBC, an impact economy business that hosts the Impact Entrepreneur Network — a large, global network of “systems-minded” entrepreneurs, investors, and scholars of social and environmental innovation — and editor and publisher of Impact Entrepreneur, a digital magazine covering the emerging Impact Economy. For over 30 years, Laurie has been a “pioneer” (Forbes) and recognized leader in sustainability, social enterprise, and impact investing. Laurie was the founding Executive Director of the international environmental organization, Orion Society, which publishes the celebrated Orion Magazine, as well as the founder of a global sustainability think-tank, the Triad Institute, and Hotfrog, a Founding B Corporation, GIIRS Pioneer Company, and the first company ever to complete an equity transaction on an impact investment exchange. Laurie is the bestselling and multiple award-winning publisher and editor of books and magazines on sustainability and social impact — having worked with such acclaimed authors as Wendell Berry, Barry Lopez, Terry Tempest Williams, and David James Duncan — and the author of numerous articles on entrepreneurship and impact investing. Laurie is contributing author to the recently published academic textbook from World Scientific, Sustainability: Business and Investment Implications (2023).