Let investors’ growing appetite for sustainable finance benefit culture

Among the reasons for the lack of interest of investors, that of the heterogeneity of the CCIs and media sector can be put forward (cf Table 3).  The complexity of the business model is another : What is the sector’s value creation process ? How to assess governance ? What are the diverse products and services delivered? Who are the competitors ?  Finally, the sector is often considered as an assisted activity dependent on public funding (taxes), the goodwill of individuals (crowdfunding) or company subsidies (charity). Cultural impact is neglected and often considered as a secondary impact in comparison with social and environmental impacts. This is a misguided analysis. The sector is an economic driver and fully contributes to strengthening the social fabric, the collective will and the self-esteem of individuals. At a time when the impact of investing is growing, as we have seen above, and mainly dedicated « to combating climate change or addressing environmental or social challenges in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals », investors could further explore the potential of these arts and culture-related industries.

It can be recognized that the UN SDGs do not provide investors with much incentive to consider these issues as they do not directly target the sector. The recent European Council conclusions [7] on the Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 recalled : « According to the ‘EU Charter of Fundamental Rights’ and the ‘UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression’ artistic freedom is central to democratic societies. Art can help overcome barriers connected to race, religion, gender, age, nationality, culture and identity, by providing a counter-discourse and contesting privileged narratives and perspectives. » The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights recognizes in its article 11 that « The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected. » The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights themselves (Reporting framework wih implementation guidance-2015) include in « Relevant Human Rights » the following rights directly related to the CCIs and media sector, namely : rights to freedom of opinion and expression, rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right to privacy.

It seems the UN SDGs do not have the same scope as regards « artistic freedom », or « freedom and pluralism of media ». UN SDG 4 Quality of education in its target 7 cautiously shelters « cultural diversity » under the umbrella of sustainable development’s concept [8].  That’s it. Brains reshaping which directly threats individuals’ critical thinking and the vitality of democracies is not really addressed by the UN SDGs which nevertheless define themselves as « the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. »
The largest market capitalizations such as Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Facebook will be relieved, as massive and global content producers and distributors, to align with SDGs which do not challenge them on how they account for their material responsibility issues towards societies.

Nevertheless, a few investors are getting involved in this media and culture-oriented sector. The point here is not to deal with public financial institutions, banks or companies’ foundations, NGOs, who may propose loans or funds to this sector but to spot asset managers who claim culture as part of their investment portfolio.
This is the case for Triodos Bank N.V., a bank based in the Netherlands with branches in Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Spain. Triodos defines itself as « one of the world’s leading sustainable banks». With €15 billion as total assets under management, Triodos remains very far from Blackrock, the largest asset manager in the world with US$5.98 trillion in assets under management as of December 2018. But Triodos is paving the way when claiming : « Our mission is to make money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change » and stating that :« Arts and culture play an important role in the personal development of individuals and the cohesion of society as a whole. Creative expression provides new perspectives, inspires and connects people. » Apart from the declarations, in its annual report [9], Triodos details the outcomes of these investments in arts and culture-oriented companies : « Triodos Bank and Triodos Investment Management finance helped approximately 3,300 artists and creative companies active in the cultural sector (2017: 3,400). Theatre, music and dance productions from creative companies were attended by 1.2 million people. New productions in 2018 from the film and media sector financed by Triodos Bank (most importantly in Spain) were seen by approximately 13 million people (2017: 9 million). » Except for Triodos and a couple of others, the CCIs and media sector is the investor industry’s blind spot although it gives rise to both cultural, social and economic value.

This paper’s purpose is to highlight the necessity for investors to stress the urgency of investing not only money but also curiosity, time, energy, engagement in this sector with its specificities, its business risks and opportunities that deserve to be considered through their proper sustainability lens.

Large or emerging investment funds involved in the media and cultural sector, can (or cannot) locally and globally build remarkable bridges between human beings, stimulate individuals’ open minds and contribute to the people’s well-being. Because culture « makes a positive contribution to society », it deserves the full attention of the international community as a whole (governments, companies, opinion makers, think tanks, NGOs) should this community is sincerely determined to buil a sustained, peaceful and creative harmony among human beings. This is an imperative challenge to address the fears of populations fragilized by an accelerated process of globalization and uncontrolled migrations.