GreenMicrofinance has been advocating for "Triple Bottom Line Investments" since 2004.  Today we see the importance of agriculture, biofuels, and clean energy as all having potential for "impact investing".  

Please see our publications on our on-line library.     

The following article may be of interest.    

In Mexico, investment with a social conscience

The latest trend in financing boasts a double or triple bottom line: returns, plus a solution to social or environmental problems.

“Impact investing” is the new buzzword in social development, an unlikely marriage between old-fashioned philanthropy and venture capitalism. The investment model, which considers the social and environmental benefits of a business venture on equal terms with its capacity to deliver return on investment, is being hailed as a way to direct more capital to solving problems in impoverished and marginalized communities.

Link to Article at Smart Planet

Photo: Flickr/David Flores

GreenMicrofinance

We at GreenMicrofinance™ (GMf™) have been promoting environmentally sustainable microfinance since 2002. 

GMf is a pioneer advocate for the accommodation of sustainable environmental practices within the financial sector, which distinctly involves micro, small and medium enterprises.

Guiding Principles 
http://www.greenmicrofinance.org/Resource-Library/Guiding-Principles/Guiding-Principles

GreenMicrofinance Publications
http://www.greenmicrofinance.org/Activities/GMf-Publications/GMf-Publications

Zimbabwe: Microfinance Goes Green 

It is wonderful to read the Zimbabwe Association of Microfinance Institutions are hosting the Green Microfinance Conference 2013.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201309130727.html

 By Hult Social Entrepreneurship | May 6th, 2013

Many see microfinance as a solution to poverty.  It may be a powerful tool, but what can it do to finally build the sustainable economy we desperately need?  

 Of what use will microfinance be if it contributes to the environmental degradation that aggravates inequality and poverty?  

There is no shortage of policies that govern the environment and policies that regulate the microfinance sector.  Many microfinance institutions have their own internal environmental policies. Voluntary policies are nice, but there is a lack of action on the part of government to impose sustainable practices in the microfinance sector, but, it isn’t for a lack of ideas for such policies.   

Read Entire Article: 

Thank you for the mention of GreenMicrofinance in the article, Mariana Gerard, Charles Ojei, Windhi Trianugrayati, Jacquelyn Pinckney, Sovanlyna Phin, and Samuel Benoit. The authors are Master of Social Entrepreneurship candidates at Hult International Business School.   http://www.hult.edu/

"A 2006 roundtable convened by the Wharton Environmental Management Program and Green Microfinance concluded that while microfinance institutions (MFIs) can do much, they cannot do it all by themselves.  They concluded that governments need to provide an infrastructure in which sustainable activities have market value."