How do I invest money in a socially, ethically, environmentally, responsible way?

Question

There has been a lot of questions recently about 'Green Investments' it got me wondering, how can we invest our money in a socially, ethically and environmentally responsible way?

What should I invest my money in?

Answer 1

There are thousands of green investment funds.

And the good news is: you can even MAKE MORE MONEY

You can also invest yourself in stocks from companies in solar, wind or other renewable energies.
The market is growing at a rate of 60% per year and the EU is there to back theses companies and the sector until they have reached a maturity on the market (like wind power), so it is pretty safe !

Look also at the electricity producers from alternative sources


anyway, check the AIM: Alternative Investment Market (London based). all companies are there.

If you want to check how green major established companies are, just look at the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Answer 2

I think your school is already doing pretty good. I would just hope that there aren't any drugs or alcohol involved. Are you guys 21 and under? I know this sounds stupid, but I know that even older kids do illegal things, and that annoys me. No matter how good, well planned and creative a prom can be, there are always chances of something going wrong. So maybe your school can have a little lecture about not doing anything illegal. I think I would like the prom as long as the people are nice. Being in 9th grade, I skipped the prom because I knew other kids would be mean to me. I don't care what the prom is like or how "cool" it is, I will not go if I know I will be made fun of. But since your prom is eco friendly, the people must be a little better too since they are contributing to it. So I would try going, especially since it is not your typical prom.

Answer 3

by building a big Pee Pee.

a Permaculture Park,

A sort of cultural center that incorporates demonstrative farming including services and activities,and could even include cabins for visiting students or Tourists.

That provides cheap produce for a community. Creates lots of activities for the youth and old people .

A nice place to hang out ,like a intense kiddie farm,where mums can park the kids
.
With a restaurant and a fruit bar ,to socialize for the folks in a healthy and interesting atmosphere.

As an extra attraction Aviary,Aquarium and a Terrarium to house animals that are found by people, that need to be housed such as snakes or rare birds.

Also facilities for Public meetings,with a stage for Music performances and plays

With some class rooms for Environmental related education

An internet cafe,to attract teenagers

A bottling plant that produces jams from the fruit produced .

in my spaces is an example for a blue print for this ,called the Crocodile ,on 4,8 hectares
,which includes a lake with aquatic life and a large fish pond-http://spaces.msn.com/byderule
but oops it is in Spanish sorry the last entry in the blog

Answer 4

Your idea of "socially, ethically and responsible way" probably isn't the same as mine. You need to do some research in the companies or products you are interested in to see if they match your ideals. For instance, bio-fuels actually destroy more of the environment than oil by the time they reach the pump (through growing them and the processing). You won't hear about that unless you investigate and research the process. You really want someone to tell you to buy this or that without YOU doing the legwork? Most people that tell you to invest in something in particular usually have an agenda. If you buy gold, are you concerned about the nearly slave labor that mines it?
DO YOUR RESEARCH or suffer the consequences to your soul. "Green investments" is a term coined by land baron's who want you to by their crops and products that usually cause more harm than good, if you could see the entire processing steps.

Answer 5

Invest in companies that are producing things that help people live green... Like solar panel companies and companies that build windmills for home owners, help them keep their cost down so more people can afford green energy and as they sell and service to more for less, then the profit starts getting huge and consumers can afford to live green, cause right now the only ones that can afford green living are the rich...

Answer 6

It would be a lot of work for you to decide this as an individual.

There are several mutual funds that do this for their customers. Exactly how they choose is revealed in their prospectus.

Even if you wanted to do it yourself, reading some of the prospectus would be a good way to start.

Here's a list of some, I'm sure there are others.

http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Financial_Services/Investment_Services/Mutual_Funds/Socially_Responsible_Funds/

Answer 7

Two part answer:
Part One - To be socially, ethically, and environmentally responsible you'll need to have control of your money. First you'll have to spend your money so that it meets your personal criteria for responsible. Once that money leaves your control for rent, mortgage, credit card payment, energy consuming products, products that create toxins(well suffice once you let it go its out of your control to create responsible or irresponsible effects) not to mention how irresponsibly tax money is used by government. Make a conscious choice to purchase responsibly. It will take awhile but this method will eventually eliminate irresponsible companies because their income goes away leaving only responsible companies to invest in.

Secondly, once you're buying responsibly and have control of yourself and your money, put your money, your time, your thought and focus into methods of expanding our collective wealth.

One group of companies that do expand our wealth are the renewable energy companies. There are a number of pitfalls we ordinary citizens can fall into with the renewable companies though. a) business as usual - same groups that saddled us with the current economic and environmental problems; find a way to reduce their costs with renewable energy but we all still suffer under their control. b) new bureaucrats - same as a)above but controlled by new and unknown group(s). c) economy base shifts - current controllers pull the rug out from under us and grab control of say the air we breath or the water we drink or the drug(s) required to live. d) apathy - we do nothing and the current controllers have no competition and continue with no need to adapt. e) ignorance f) the melt down - current controllers see they aren't going to be the dominant force in the future so they simply destroy everything (civilicide-new word - purposeful destruction of a civilization by the civilization itself).

As owner of my company A.R.E. I promise to use every dollar to expand our wealth and improve the environment.

Answer 8

investigate the corporate philosophies of various entities... companies, banks, even charities and campaigns of political candidates . by learning what values are held by companies, you can visualize how they will spend or reinvest their profits. businesses take great pride in announcing their philosophies and while yes they do it in the interest of increasing business, they also reach out to those with similar ideas about what's important: the earth, social causes, research, etc.

invest in a group you whose philosophies intertwine with your own.. one which espouses fair trade and environmental care, simple living, local benefits... you'll know it when you see it!

Answer 9

Invest money in getting Starbucks to use greenware for their cups, they seem to be the only coffeehouse chain (and the most popular one) that doesn't use biodegradable cold cups made from corn. Holy crap, if they did, think of the space we'd save in landfills, seriously! Think of how many damn frappuccinos are sold every day and how many of those drink cups are thrown away, never to decompost.

Answer 10

Phoenix has a good point
Hawk is what his name says it is, a republican moron (Dick Cheney calls himself a hawk).
Nickel is usually pretty right on with his answers.
Brad, what the F* Coco is ok but vage.
Bob has a good answer.