The global assessment of the sustainable investment landscape was carried out by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, which says it represents the seven leading global sustainable investment membership organizations.

Global sustainable investing assets soared 61 per cent from 2012 to $21.4 trillion at the start of 2014, according to The Global Sustainable Investment Review 2014.

Europe invested the lion's share, accounting for a 64 per cent majority of last year's global sustainable investment assets. According to the review, together with the US and Canada, Europe took up 99 per cent of the global market, bringing into the limelight Asia's comparatively meager activity in this area.

β€œWe are encouraged to see a steady growth in sustainable investment assets across the Asia market, however this figure is very small in relative terms when compared with other regional and national markets,” said Jessica Robinson, chief executive at the Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia, in a statement.

β€œThe Global Sustainable Investment Review highlights the massive potential for Asia in terms of building out sustainable investment as a mainstream strategy, as has been experienced elsewhere.”

Robinson said there were positive trends to note in Asia, however, which indicate promising growth potential. These include a rising interest in green bonds and clean energy investment.

Further highlighting the global upward trend was the 21.5 per cent rise to 30.2 per cent of assets employing sustainable investing strategies.

In other revelations, negative screening came out as the most common sustainable investing strategy, influencing around $14.4 trillion in assets worldwide. ESG (environmental, social and governance) integration followed close behind as the second most popular strategy, affecting $12.9 trillion in assets, with a particularly dominant presence in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Asia.