University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Making Money Moral
Book

Making Money Moral

How a New Wave of Visionaries Is Linking Purpose and Profit

Judith Rodin and Saadia Madsbjerg
Wharton School Press, 2021
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Captalism can lead to a greener planet, healthier people, more equitable societies and more resilient economies. This vision inspires the growing movement in impact investing, with wealth managers, corporations, entrepreneurs and nonprofits developing innovative strategies to address global problems. The result of research that Judith Rodin and Saadia Madsbjerg conducted at The Rockefeller Foundation, this insightful, compact book offers real-world examples of the risks and opportunities of impact investing. The authors fuse optimism with business sense as they discuss a movement that’s channeling trillions of dollars into meeting global challenges. 

Summary

People in diverse roles and sectors are reimagining capitalism as a mechanism for a better world.

From conscientious consumers to corporate board directors, from scholarly journals to the popular press, from street demonstrations to the corridors of power, the mantra has gone mainstream: Capitalism must correct its course. Recent and emerging crises spotlight the unsustainable status quo while revealing the relationships among environmental issues, economic concerns and other social problems. Leaders in business, government and the nonprofit sector, along with a growing segment of the general public, view markets as a means for creating a better world while earning profits.

Business leaders and investors understand that environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges offer economic risk and opportunity. Today, mission-driven problem solvers – NGOs, public agencies and nonprofits – suggest ways that big finance can serve the greater good. Environmental and social problems often manifest in market failures that may be amenable to market solutions. Such opportunities arise in sustainable energy, manufacturing, agriculture...

About the Authors

Former president of the University of Pennsylvania Judith Rodin championed the impact investing movement in her capacity as president of The Rockefeller Foundation. Saadia Madsbjerg led financial innovation as managing director of The Rockefeller Foundation, piloting sustainable investing initiatives. 

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