Sustainability Street: Impact Investing Hits Home for CRE

Commercial Property Executive

Investing for social and environmental change is not a new concept, but there has been a recent boost in demand for investments centered on equity and inclusion, the affordable housing shortage, and the climate crisis. Allocations to impact investments surpassed $1 trillion in assets under management in 2021, according to a study by the Global Impact Investing Network and Nuveen. However, their report notes, this milestone is just the beginning if the UN Sustainability Goals are to be met by 2030.

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, CPE’s podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in, For this episode on impact investing, Executive Editor Therese Fitzgerald interviewed Jeff Brenner, CEO and president of Impact Community Capital, which has produced more than $2 billion of institutional-quality impact investments in affordable housing, childcare and healthcare over the past 25 years. They discuss the history of socially responsible investing, the drivers behind the surge in impact funds, and the increasing returns of housing investments.

Here's a sample of the topics covered:

• Brenner's background (1:32)
• Socially responsible investing's roots (3:37)
• Affordable housing and impact investing (6:42)
• ESG meets impact investing (7:37)
• Impact investing in action (9:58)
• Busting myths about impact investing (16:43)