Abstract

This paper examines the rise of socially responsible investment (SRI) as a sustainable finance mechanism and discusses the potential of SRI to contribute toward a more socially responsible and environmentally sound model of commerce in the Asia-Pacific region. Using a case study approach, I argue in this paper that the potential of SRI to accelerate the private sector toward greater sustainability has been to date largely explored within the North American and European regional contexts and that the future global development of SRI is likely to depend on whether and to what degree SRI becomes a viable financial instrument in industrialized (Japan) and emerging (Hong Kong/China) economies of the Asia-Pacific region