Green funds are collection of public funds by fund managers with promise of investing in green projects. Some green fund will promise not to invest in tobacco while green funds will promise not to invest in non-renewable energy projects. A good example of green fund is the alternative energy mutual funds. This brings us to the question ‘what are alternative energy mutual funds?’
Alternative energy mutual fund is a pool of; business angels, venture capitalists, and other investors who trust their money in hand of fund managers with the mandate of investing in startups that promise to invest in alternative source of energy. Alternative energy mutual funds were developed with the principal aim of saving and preserving our environment most especially now that we are all moved by the threat of global warming and the devastating effects of oil spill. Take the recent Gulf of Mexico’s oil spill as an example. Renewable energy funds and ethical mutual funds are some other examples of green funds.
WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT?
Responsible investing are those investments that are made with the interest of the masses at hand while still not losing sight of profitability which is a major objective of business and investment. Those investments that are made after taking into consideration the side effects and positive impacts of investment opportunity are known as responsible investment or responsible investing. Social responsible investment is a process that involves some of the best practices in business and investment activities. Some of the activities and qualities that make an investment green are briefly looked at below:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT: investing in the community where a business operates is an important non-financial factor of capital budgeting that every future oriented company should be concerned about. Community investment is not only a social responsibility of a business but also a protective measure taken by modern businesses. The environment of a business will take care of her in time of trouble if the business can react responsibly to the plight of the community.
GREEN ENERGY: responsible companies make use of as much green energy as they can lay their hands on. Green energy is a phrase used to represent company’s activities as far as energy generation is possible. Green energy according many experts is one step in the right direction that every business should put into their normal day to day activities if we truly want to combat the number of threats posed to our economy by non-green energy. If you are a business executive that is thinking about investing responsibly, you must invest in green energy equipment and sources.
GREEN STOCKS: green stocks are those stocks whose trading activities do not affect the climatic condition. They can either be blue-chip stocks or penny stocks. Many countries of the world have taken serious step to ensure that all stocks are as green as they can be. This is done by involving paperless process in the stock trading process. Part of the qualities that makes stocks green is the stocks ability to be traded online. Online trading stocks are fast becoming huge industry with great investment potential
SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS: being socially conscious is a vital step towards being socially responsible in your investment. Social responsibility is the key to sustainable investing. No wonder ACCA is hammering on sustainability reporting. Sustainability investing is the act of making investments that will withstand anticipated problems and challenges. Companies carryout what is known as capital budgeting or investment appraisal in order to determine the sustainability of the investment proposal(s).
It is clear from this article that green funds are not the only form of green investment and responsible investment that can be made towards contributing in the campaign of preserving our environment. We should all endeavour to make our activities as responsible as we can so as to meet our goal of investing responsibly. One interesting thing I have come to realise is that we have more investment opportunities in green activities sector than most other industries that we all crowd ourselves in.
To the protection of our environment!
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