Dr David Ko and Richard Busellato presented a King’s College webinar on investments and sustainability on 16th June 2021. Their book on the ethics of sustainability is due to be published by Panoma Press in November. Both David and Richard are participants in the London & South-East Care of Creation Monday Lunchtime Briefings hosted by Westminster Justice and Peace. Dr David Ko is the Justice and Peace Parish Contact for Our Lady of Victories, Kensington.

What is going on with sustainability? Why do we keep damaging the environment? What is really driving the problems? Is it the fault of the big businesses and the economy? Or, is it actually all on us? A case of “Lord make me pure, but just not yet”.

With three decades of investment experience working with pensions and savings institutions, Dr David Ko and Richard Busellato explored the ways in which we are all pushing the world beyond its limits. Our investments are draining the world of its resources just so we can hoard money for our individual futures – our retirement. If we are going to be sustainable, forget retiring – it is the ethical thing to do. If we can’t retire, what are we working for? If investing is unsustainable, should we save at all?

Speakers
Dr David Ko and Richard Busellato are authors of a book on the sustainability issues of investments. After three decades in the industry, even as seasoned professionals they somewhat ashamedly admit to only recognizing recently the extent of the problems. We save to protect our own future, but the savings need to grow by so much that they destroy the future. The problem is our economy is not designed for a world with finite limits; an economic model for this needs to be centred on ethics and purpose. Having worked at renowned hedge funds such as LTCM and Millennium, and investment companies such as Henderson and Bank of America, they have recently left the industry so they may speak more freely. 

The Webinar was hosted by King’s College Fellow, Dr Kamiar Mohaddes.

https://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/digitalweek/the-unsustainable-truth