The acquisition of shares with a high environmental, social, and governance profile, or ESG investment, is one of the themes that sparks the most spirited debate among institutional investors and in company boardrooms.

ESG does more than just speak platitudes, though. According to a new Callan Institute report, endowments and foundations used ESG criteria in investment decision-making at a rate of 42% in 2019.

The main reasons for this increase in interest in ESG investing are covered in the infographic below, titled An Overview of ESG Investing. Anyone interested in investing or starting a business that wants to increase its value or chances of raising capital should start by reading the infographic.

It is widely known that Millennials, who already have a substantial and expanding impact on investment, place a high importance on taking into account how businesses are run. The relationship between higher profitability and more lucrative investment opportunities and socially responsible company operations is less well understood.

Regulatory fines, upset shareholders, bad publicity, and other potentially damaging, value-destroying events happen a lot less for companies with high ESG scores. Ethics-conscious employers enjoy lower employee turnover rates and more productive, engaged workforces. These and other factors ESG focused companies some of the best long-term investment prospects. Refer to the relevant infographic for more details.