
History of US Trends Reports and Sustainable Investing Milestones
Pioneers and promoters are at the center of the history of the sustainable investing sector. Their dedication and hard work are behind its development and maturation. In the late 1970s, early sustainable investors joined the global anti-Apartheid movement, forcing divestment of South African holdings by both companies and big institutional investors. The end of Apartheid in the 1990s was a pivotal moment, marking how sustainable investing could — and does — create real change.
US SIF: The US Sustainable Investment Forum was founded in 1984, early in the movement’s history. We’ve been delighted to be at the center of a widening network of investors and other capital markets actors who recognize that their role as capital stewards includes driving financial outcomes to safeguard the long-term value of their investments alongside people and the planet.
In 1995, the Trends Report was born from US SIF’s recognition of the need to map the direction and scale of US-based investments committed to sustainability. In the years since, this biennial report has chronicled the remarkable growth and diversification of sustainable investing.
Over the years, the Trends Report has highlighted major developments in the industry, including an increasing focus on climate change, the popularity of negative screening and the focus on sustainability and ESG strategies:
- In 1995, the inaugural Trends Report set a benchmark for sustainable investing in the US.
- In 2006, the Trends Report supported the creation of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
- In the 2010s, the Trends Report documented the notable global expansion of the sustainable investment space, the rise of new sustainable asset classes such as green bonds and the growing diversity of approaches.
- The 2020s have seen the industry grapple with new regulations, political support and scrutiny and the rise of both greenwashing and greenhushing. Investors are increasingly focused on social risks and climate change along with other risks to the natural environment as they seek to achieve sustainable value along with financial returns.
The 2024 edition of the Trends Report is the 15th iteration. The US SIF has had a unique position as the leading resource of data and insights on professionally managed US assets in sustainable investing strategies.
This perspective has led us to implement three notable enhancements in this year’s Trends Report:
- Improved Methodology and Enriched Data:
- Offers two estimations of the scale of the broader universe of sustainable investing in the US: (1) a data-led definition of Sustainable Investing Assets and, (2) a wider view of the assets covered by Stewardship Policies.
- Addresses double-counting issues in estimating AUM for sustainable investment, resulting in a new baseline which represents more accurate figures and ensuring replicable processes going forward.
- Integrates surveys, desk research and data enhanced techniques for data collection and analysis.
- Expanded survey questions and responses:
- Retools the Trends Survey, covering a wide range of issues, topics and themes.
- Adds survey questions — see Methodology & Survey Supplement for list of questions.
- Reports on more than 250 responses received from May-August 2024 — doubling the responses of the 2022 Survey.
- Enhanced reference materials and interactive online data visualization:
- Offers interactive online data visualization for key findings, with the option to purchase the full report.
- Provides the full Trends Survey 2024 in the Methodology & Survey Supplement.
These improvements reflect the evolution of the Trends Report to embrace advanced data collection and analysis techniques and reinforce the report’s position as an invaluable resource for professionals and researchers in the sustainable investing field.
For additional Trends report findings and information please visit the US SIF website at https://www.ussif.org