Start Thinking Green Investments! For the Planet and Your Wallet

You can make money with a non-traditional type of investing that is gaining popularity, while feeling good about your financial decisions that help everyone! Green investing can help you meet your financial goals, like growing your savings while ensuring that your money has a positive impact on people and the planet.

Becoming a green investor isn’t difficult and can be profitable in a positive way. There are three styles of green investing to help you fulfill this: 

1. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) – investors look at a broad range of behaviors. Areas of investment can include a company’s energy use, waste, pollution, natural resource, or conservation.

2. Socially responsible investing (SRI) – this type of investing takes place with companies that do not pollute the environment. SRI investors may avoid investing in fossil fuels, and others may invest in companies that minimize a carbon footprint.

3. Impact investing – the process of investing to help achieve something positive for society. This can include access to education, energy, water, or healthcare, or even affordable housing.

The goal of the socially concerned green investor is to seek ownership of shares of profitable companies that are transparent about their operations, have strong records of community involvement, positive environmental impact policies and practices, respect for human rights around the world, and create safe and useful products. These types of investors will also try to avoid firms that fall short in these areas. Here are some examples of where a green investor may look for positive returns:

• Water – You can purchase shares of companies that produce water-related equipment, such as pumps, meters and filters, invest in water utilities and environmental companies that clean, purify or distribute water. Remove 1-2 dining out nights per month.

• Wind Power – There are different facets to this industry, such as developing and managing wind farms, producing and distributing the electricity generated by wind power, and manufacturing, distributing, and maintaining machinery. The most popular investment type is wind power based electricity.

• Solar Energy – Companies that use energy from the sun to power homes, buildings and a variety of other items from lights to radios.

• Pollution Control – Some industries are including a clean environment as a part of their process equipment requirements. And power plants are also focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• Green Transportation – In addition to Tesla’s electric vehicles, there is opportunity with well-established automakers like BMW and Audi as they roll out new electric cars in the near future; as well as Byton, Lordstown, and Rivian.

Keep in mind that these socially responsible investments are still investments, and should weigh the potential for return into their decisions.

To align your future investment with your financial goals, NIH Federal Credit Union’s Wealth Advisors is designed specifically to help you with making these important decisions. It brings the credit union’s “people helping people” core values to the wealth management services we offer our members.