Morgan Stanley recently announced the establishment of the “Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing” aiming to work on driving capital towards investments that promote sustainable economic growth. As stated in this press release by CSRwire, the Institute will focus on financial products/solutions, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships with public, private, and non-profit sectors.
This creates shared value for both Morgan Stanley and their beneficiaries. For example, one of the commitments of the Institute is establishing a Sustainable Investing Fellowship program at Columbia business school to educate students on sustainable investing. Through this, Morgan Stanley contributes to education on sustainable practices but, at the same time – especially as the program includes an internship at Morgan Stanley, they are setting up students for possible employment and they benefit from employees who are already exposed to things like corporate culture at the firm and will need less time to adjust to the work environment.
Another goal is also to “meet client demand for for opportunities to invest for positive environmental and social impact”. Again, both Morgan Stanley and their clients can benefit from the returns on these investments while the companies being invested in gain capital to further their activities that create positive impacts.