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Meaning & use

socially responsible investment

noun·Academicfinancebusiness

Last updated

UK/ˌsəʊʃəli rɪˌspɒnsəbl ɪnˈvestmənt/
US/ˌsoʊʃəli rɪˌspɑːnsəbl ɪnˈvestmənt/

Meanings

  1. noununcountablefinance

    The practice of choosing where to put money by considering ethical, social or environmental effects as well as profit.

    Grammar: Usually uncountable when it names the approach: socially responsible investment is growing.

    Patterns

    • socially responsible investment in something

    Socially responsible investment has grown as people worry about climate change.

    Our pension fund follows a policy of socially responsible investment.

    She chose socially responsible investment because she did not want to support weapons makers.

  2. nouncountablefinance

    A particular holding, fund or company that meets such ethical or social standards.

    Grammar: Countable when it refers to a specific asset: a socially responsible investment.

    Patterns

    • a socially responsible investment in something

    Wind power companies are a popular socially responsible investment.

    He called the community bank his best socially responsible investment.

    The fund lists only socially responsible investments that pass its screen.

Word forms

pluralsocially responsible investments

Common combinations

socially responsible investment fund
She put her savings in a socially responsible investment fund.
socially responsible investment strategy
The college adopted a socially responsible investment strategy.
promote socially responsible investment
Several banks now promote socially responsible investment.
screen for socially responsible investment
Managers screen for socially responsible investment using ethical criteria.
demand for socially responsible investment
The demand for socially responsible investment keeps rising.

Synonyms and how they differ

ethical investment
Ethical investment stresses moral principles, while socially responsible investment also covers wider social and environmental effects.
sustainable investing
Sustainable investing focuses on long-term environmental and social health, and often on companies that benefit from it.
impact investing
Impact investing aims to create measurable good results, whereas socially responsible investment may only avoid harmful businesses.
ESG investing
ESG investing scores companies on environmental, social and governance factors, so it sounds more technical and data driven.

Word family

invest verb
to put money into something expecting a return
investor noun
a person who invests
responsibility noun
a duty to act well
socially adverb
in a way related to society

Commonly confused: socially responsible investment or corporate social responsibility?

socially responsible investment vs corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is what a company does about its own impact; socially responsible investment is what an investor chooses to buy.

Practice

A fund refuses to buy shares in tobacco firms and favors clean energy. This is an example of ___.

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