Denmark
The Danish SRI market has grown recently, after having been historically slow to embrace SRI. This can be attributed to the predominance of fixed income securities in Danish investment portfolios, where there were at the time no responsible investment alternatives. In addition, Danish SRI pioneers faced an uphill battle where they were met by adverse media attention and received little NGO, government and union support. Recent growth in responsible investment has been stimulated by the introduction and subsequent development of fixed income investment products, as well as the increased importance of equity products in the Danish market. The emergence of the UN PRI has also promoted growth in the Danish institutional SRI market, and it is likely to continue to do so in the future. A new governmental CSR action plan is also anticipated to spur growth over the coming years.
While norms-based screening will continue to be the dominant approach in the Danish market, it is likely to be supplemented by engagement approaches.
Some facts about the Danish market:
- SRI Market size: €45.7 billion for Core, €68.8 billion for Broad
- Influential actors: institutional investors, UN PRI
- Leading Strategies: simple screens, engagement, best-in-class and ethical exclusion
- Number of funds: 8 retail SRI funds
- Legal Milestone: CSR action plan in 2008 (ESG disclosure for companies and investors)
- SIF (yes/no): Yes, Dansif since 2008
For more information on SRI in Denmark, please visit Dansif at www.dansif.dk
Or download the Danish section of Eurosif's European SRI Study 2008.
