Social impact investing
Social impact investing is an approach to financing and investing in projects which address social or environmental problems.
The focus of these investments is to generate positive and measurable social outcomes in addition to a financial return, ensuring sustainable economic growth.
The Australian impact investment market is growing rapidly, accounting for over $13 billion of all Australian investments. However, development has been slower in Western Australia due to a lack of government policy focus. For example, the New South Wales government has launched social impact bonds and established an Office of Social Impact Investment to drive impact investment in their State.
Industry has seized this opportunity. In 2020 WA Super anchored WA’s first impact investment fund, the $20 million ‘WA Impact Fund’. It aims to invest in Western Australian (local) assets and projects that have positive social and environmental impacts. The WA Impact Fund’s mandate includes rooftop solar and batteries on community buildings and housing, sustainable agriculture, social impact bonds and financing support for social enterprises.
