3 minutes read
We know you might be thinking that finance chat is dry. We can’t promise to make this one a fun read, but what we can do is get our national treasure to do the talking by leading with a few wise words from David Attenborough.
Most of us don’t think of ourselves as investors, but if you have a bank account and a pension, you are! The thing is, if we don’t know we’re investors, we equally can’t know what we’re investing in, and may unknowingly be funding anything from wind power to power plants. Which, as pointed out by David, is ironic as we could be damaging our future with the very same pot we’re saving for it in.
In short, making sure your investments with your bank and pension align with your values is a powerful way to put money where your mouth is. Cushon found the average UK pension unwittingly funds 23 tonnes of CO2 emissions on average through business investments. Which if you’ve made it this deep into this article, you probably know is bad news for the planet.
This is why there’s a growing number of people wanting to put their funds toward a green future. In fact, Environmental, Social and Governance funds have been forecasted to outnumber conventional funds by 2025. Take that fossil fuels.
If, like a lot of us, you have gooder intentions to check what your pension is invested in but haven’t the foggiest who your provider is, there’s a handy government service which tells you who’s looking after your money so you can work from there.
Switch it is a platform which helps identify whether your bank, pension or energy provider is funding climate change. If you don’t like what you see, switching to a sustainable and ethical fund is much less admin than it sounds. Or if you like your pension provider, but want them to make the change – Make My Money Matter will email on your behalf and give them a nudge in the direction of net zero.
As consumers, we have the power to show businesses and politicians that there is demand for a gooder future. How, you ask? Well, it’s the choices we make on a daily basis – what we buy, what we eat or how we travel – which create a demand that businesses must meet. Imagine every penny is a vote in the direction of change: by buying sustainable food, we show our producers that we want to be resourceful in what we eat. By switching to clean energy, we show suppliers that we choose green. By shopping slowly, we can show manufacturers that we want quality over quantity.
If you want a cheat sheet of brands who are gooder for our future, a B corp is a great indicator of this. All B corp brands are assessed to the highest standard of verified environmental and social performance. And we know from experience, they leave no stone unturned when it comes to rigorous assessments. Here’s a list of B corp brands who are busy being forces for gooder.
Full disclosure, we’re foodies and waste warriors, not financial advisors. Links are not affiliated, and perspectives are from an environment standpoint.
