4 Steps to Sustainable Investing 4 Steps to Sustainable Investing These four steps can guide a dynamic sustainable investing strategy for the long term. For institutional asset owners, the case for incorporating sustainable investing into portfolio management is only getting stronger. As the wide-ranging implications of sustainability issues, such as public health, climate change and social justice, become more apparent, so too have they become essential to effectively assessing investment risks and opportunities. Helping to make the case is evidence showing that incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in portfolios could aid investors in capturing above-market returns. While the coronavirus pandemic induced a global recession and market volatility in the first half of 2020, sustainable funds—across stocks and bonds—in general helped investors weather the period better than many of their traditional peers,* according to a recent study by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing. During a longer time horizon, from 2004 to 2018, sustainable funds experienced 20% less downside risk compared with traditional funds,* according to another Institute report, and 4-in-5 asset owners agree that sustainable investing may be an effective risk-management strategy and lead to higher profitability. In addition to financial performance, asset owners see an opportunity to target positive social and environmental impact, avoid reputational risk and comply with regulations.