Title: Editorial: The contribution of sustainable investments to sustainable development

Authors: Pontus Cerin, Peter Dobers

Addresses: Department of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Umea School of Business, University of Umea, SE-901 87 Umea, Sweden; IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, P.O. Box 210 60, SE-100 31 Stockholm, Sweden. ' School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology, Malardalen University, P.O. Box 883, SE-721 23 Vasteras, Sweden

Abstract: Financial markets play a pivotal role in our economy in that the allocation of resources through these markets determines, to a significant degree, the development of our society. The way we invest today has an effect on the way society will function and produce in the future. Even a small shift in the behaviour of the actors on the financial markets can have significant consequences on other sectors of society, ranging from company operations at the microlevel, to the trends and developments in the international economy at the macrolevel. Recent trends including globalisation, outsourcing, short-term financial gains and so forth have led some to question the ethics and sustainability of existing business models and practices.

Keywords: financial markets, sustainable investment; sustainable development; ethics; sustainability; business models; business practices; industrial ecology.

DOI: 10.1504/PIE.2008.019129

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal, 2008 Vol.5 No.3, pp.161 - 179

Published online: 29 Jun 2008 *

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