Calvert Investments: Environmental, Social, and Governance Sustainability

In 2014, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Calvert Investments (Calvert) found herself at a crossroads. Under her stewardship, Calvert had become one of the world’s leading investment management firms, specialized in using sustainability as a platform to create value for investors. After having been recruited to the position from Wall Street, the CEO had enthusiastically embraced and encouraged Calvert’s unique positioning for 17 years. The idea of environmental, social, and governance sustainability had not only defined Calvert’s niche in investments, but had come to describe the CEO’s personal leadership style and shaped how she ran the company. However, with many apparent challenges to the environmental, social, and governance community and the broader investor community, the CEO wondered if the old way of doing sustainable and socially responsible investing was sufficient to support the changes that she felt were needed.