ESG investing statistics

There is growing emphasis for companies to clean up their operations, with ESG (environment, social and governance) investing being a key factor for investor analysis. We conducted a survey into how many people in the UK invest, how ethical their portfolios are and if current non-investors would be swayed to invest into ethically run companies.

ESG statistics: Highlights

• 1 in 10 UK investors have taken part in ESG investing.
• 76% of consumers will stop buying from companies that treat the environment poorly.
• 88% of consumers will be more loyal to companies that support social and environmental initiatives.
• 88% of publicly traded companies had an ESG initiative as of 2020.
• However, 58% of executives admitted to instances of greenwashing within their organization.
• 80% of the world’s largest companies are reporting significant exposure to climate change risks according to external research.
• Millennials are the most likely to invest ethically, as 14% of millennial investors have been involved in ESG investing.

Does the UK invest ethically?

Our recent survey found that, while over half of UK adults have invested as of 2024, just 1 in 10 of those investors (11%) had ESG investments as part of their portfolio. While a previous Finder survey revealed that 77% of investors would consider investing ethically, it seems this has not yet translated into reality.

Ethical investing varies among the generations. Millennials are the most likely to have an ESG investment, with 14% having done so. They are followed by generation Z, with 9% having invested in ESG.

Meanwhile, just 7% of generation X, 5% of baby boomers and 4% of the silent generation have made an ESG investment.

Why is ESG important for companies?

ESG is key for companies today, since consumers are more conscious of the environmental impact of their consumption. Research shows that 88% of consumers will be more loyal to companies that support social and environmental initiatives. There is a lot of opportunity for companies to improve on ESG, only 50% of companies believe they measure up well against environmental metrics, according to a recent global survey.

Committing to ESG can be costly, but the upside of the initial investment is reflected in the stock market. According to a recent metastudy, the majority of ESG investment funds perform better than the overall market.

What is greenwashing?

Greenwashing occurs when companies focus more on marketing themselves as environmentally friendly than on limiting their negative environmental impact. A recent global survey found that around 80% of executives believe their organization is meeting ESG metrics, but 58% of the same executives admitted to instances of greenwashing within their organization.

Greenwashing can backfire, if consumers find out about it. Recent research shows that around 76% of consumers will stop buying from companies that treat the environment poorly.

Importance and adoption of ESG

Aside from attracting interest from consumers and investors, many companies around the world are directly affected by their ESG effort. 4 in 5 (80%) of the world’s largest companies are reporting significant exposure to climate change risks according to external research. In light of this, more than three-quarters (77%) of small and mid-sized companies in the UK formally stated their ESG goals, according to recent research.

How many ESG funds are there?

As of 2021, there were 167 ESG funds in the UK for investors to choose from. According to external research, 88% of publicly traded companies had some ESG initiative in place, as of 2020. By comparison, only around 2 in 3 (67%) private companies had ESG initiatives in place at the same time.

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• ESG investing research: 2021

  Does the UK ethically invest?

  Our survey found over three-quarters (77%) of Brits who intend to invest, are likely to consider investing ethically. This equates to just over 23 million adults in the UK.

  Almost half (49%) of those in our survey say they have an investment. Within this group, 57% of investors hold an ethical investment.

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  	Have an investment	Current investor and would consider ethical investing
  Yes	49.00%	77.27%
  No	51.00%	22.47%

  ESG gender differences

  More men (35%) have ethical investments compared to women (21%). This significant difference is because a lot more women (60%) do not invest compared to men (40%). However, looking at just those who invest, the men are slightly higher in investing ethically, with 35% of men having ethical investments to 32% of women.

  In total, just over 28% of investors have an ethical investment.

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  Don't have investments	40.87%	60.52%
  Have ethical investments (deliberate)	20.95%	12.61%
  Have ethical investments (coincidence)	13.93%	8.54%
  Don't have ethical investments	24.15%	18.23%
  Other	0.10%	0.10%
  Total ethical investments	34.88%	21.14%

  Planning to invest in ESG by gender

  Our survey found that more than half of men (51%) would consider investing ethically, 13 points higher than women (38%).

  Almost 51% of women said they do not plan to invest, which is the same amount of men who would consider ethical investments.

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  	Male	Female
  Don't plan on investing	34.37%	50.73%
  Would consider ethical investing	50.88%	37.92%
  Wouldn't consider ethical investing	14.45%	11.35%
  Other	0.31%	0.00%

  How ethical are current investors by generation?

  From those who have investments, generation Z (45%) have the most ethical investments, with generation X close behind with just under (40%). Generation X (25%) and silent generation (22%) follow, with baby boomers (16%) being the lowest ethical investor generation.

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  	Generation Z	Millennials	Generation X	Baby boomers	Silent generation
  Don't have investments	24.88%	41.28%	51.77%	63.66%	65.12%
  Have ethical investments (deliberate)	21.89%	18.76%	8.94%	4.72%	3.49%
  Have ethical investments (coincidence)	23.38%	21.01%	16.01%	11.59%	18.60%
  Don't have ethical investments	29.85%	18.95%	23.28%	19.74%	12.79%
  Other	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.29%	0.00%
  Total ethical investments	45.27%	39.77%	24.95%	16.31%	22.09%

  Planning to invest in ESG by generation

  Generation Z (66%) are the most likely group to invest ethically, which is considerably more than all the other generation groups. Millennials are the second most likely age group to invest ethically (15%), slightly higher than the silent generation (15%). Generation X follow (12%), with baby boomers the least likely to invest ethically at (11%).

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  	Generation Z	Millennials	Generation X	Baby boomers	Silent generation
  Don't plan on investing	19.90%	29.64%	42.41%	58.23%	54.65%
  Would consider ethical investing	66.17%	15.38%	12.47%	10.59%	15.12%
  Wouldn't consider ethical investing	13.93%	15.38	12.47%	10.59%	15.12%
  Other	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.43%	0.00%

  How ethical are current investors by region?

  Following the intentions to invest ethically, London is the most prominent region in the UK with almost 44% having some form of ethical investment. A third (34%) of investors in Northern Ireland have invested ethically, followed by West Midlands (31%), East of England (29%), South West (28%), Wales (27%), North East (27%), Scotland (25%), Yorkshire and the Humber (24%), North West (23%) and South East (21%).

  At the other end of the scale, the East Midlands is the region with the lowest amount of ethical investors, with just a fifth (20%) having an ethical investment in their portfolio.

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  Region	Current investors with ethical investments
  Yorkshire and the Humber	24.24%
  London	43.94%
  South West	27.91%
  South East	20.73%
  Wales	27.08%
  Scotland	25.00%
  West Midlands	31.25%
  North West	22.73%
  North East	26.83%
  East of England	29.03%
  Northern Ireland	34.00%
  East Midlands	19.86%

  Future ESG investing trends by region

  London is the most likely region to ethically invest, with almost two-thirds (64%) of the population saying they would consider investing ethically. Other than London, all other regions have similar levels of those who would consider ethical investments, with the second highest, the South West (45%) and the lowest regions, East Midlands and East of England (both 37%) within 8 percentage points.

  • Table

  Region	Would consider ethical investing
  Yorkshire and the Humber	38.18%
  London	64.02%
  South West	44.77%
  South East	40.36%
  Wales	41.67%
  Scotland	39.88%
  West Midlands	41.48%
  North West	41.36%
  North East	41.46%
  East of England	36.99%
  Northern Ireland	44.00%
  East Midlands	36.99%

For all media enquiries, please contact

Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806