Monday, August 18, 2008

Environmental Investing

I was thinking about investing money in the stock market. I know that half of the people reading this will be appalled that I haven't already done so, while the other half agree that the task seems too daunting an undertaking to even begin. Then comes the dilemma of wanting to invest in companies who's priorities line up with mine. I certainly don't want to invest in companies that are hurting the environment or animals, or taking advantage of people in countries by giving low wages and offer poor working conditions. I want to know that any company that I invest in will be environmentally and socially responsible.

Luckily, I found this great website called Environmental Leader. I have been a subscriber for a couple of months and I really like it. The goal is to track corporations progress in the "green" department while also bringing the slackers to the forefront. I signed up to the email list and now every day I get an email full of great and helpful information. Obviously, this isn't the only tool to use when deciding what companies deserve my investment, but it gives me one more thing to take into account before I hand over my cash.

Luckily, it seems that many companies are making being "green" a priority, so investing in a green company shouldn't be that difficult. If there is a company that you want to invest in but are haters of the Earth, call up their shareholder relations department ( can be found on their web site) and express your thoughts. Ask them what initiatives they are implementing and let them know how important it is that their priorities align with yours. After all, if it wasn't for the shareholders the corporate landscape would look a LOT different.

Would you invest greenly? Let me know your thoughts!




1 comments:

Ron Robins said...

Well done for thinking to invest green!

Green-ethical investing has come a long way since I started following it forty years ago! You might find my site useful. It uniquely covers the latest green-ethical investing global news and research. It's at www.investingforthesoul.com


Best wishes, Ron Robins