Ethical investing, green
investment - LINKS to articles &
websites - collated by Henry Adams
WARNING
of RISK: This web-page is at collation-of-reference-links stage: of
any websites, articles, people, that look at first glance to be of
relevance and potentially helpfully informative on this important
topic. Because the links are here it does not necessarily mean I have
checked and endorsed them, but simply that they at least look of
interest and relevant. Bear in mind that I am no expert on investing
(I'm a complete novice). Also that investments can be risky, and I
presume that applies also to green and ethical investments, though
hopefully to a lesser extent than other investments (it's easy to
think of a priori reasons why that is likely to be the case; however,
our fossil-fuel-entrenched-coalition-government pose a potential
threat to green investments).
NB: the references/websites linked to
below are not recommendations but possibilities that might be worth you
looking at to consider.
I am not personally in a position or competency of expertise to
recommend specific investments. Some of these sites I haven't even
visited yet - but have added them here so I can have a look at when I
have the time.
I need to organize this resource soon (it's now mostly unordered), e.g.
into categories if possible, or some sort of systematic order. Unclear
how right now. Advice welcome.
LINK
to fossil fuel divestment section of my web-page on Climate
Change and Energy. NB: divest and invest are of course
closely linked. To be effective in persuading people and organizations to
divest from fossil fuels and other unethical investments we need to
provide alternative investments for them to transfer their money too. A
"carrot and stick" approach can be helpful.
Useful hashtags on twitter: #DivestInvest
#divest from
#fossilfuels #carbonbubble
#strandedassets
NB: Beware that 'ethical' does not necessarily mean non-fossil-fuel or
green to certain investment companies who claim to either be "ethical" or
have "ethical" investment accounts or portfolios. E.g. read: ‘Ethical’
funds still pouring money into coal, oil and gas, new report finds "Report
by advisers Barchester Green names winners and sinners of ethical and
environmental funds industry" Rupert Jones 18oct14 in Money section of The
Guardian.html
NEWS:
May
2015 onwards: disastrous election result: Tories in power: George Osborne,
using Amber Rudd for PR and doing the dirty work, takes action to halt
solar and onshore wind, and harm community energy schemes. Unclear what
will survive into 2016.
10apr15 'Fossil
fuel-free funds outperformed conventional ones, analysis shows'
Patrick Collinson, Environment The Guardian. Also see links in
section 7 of '10
myths about fossil fuel divestment put to the sword' Damian
Carrington, 9mar15, The Guardian.
Oct2014 Move your money now! Email banks: http://moveyourmoney.org.uk/campaigns/divest/
24sep14 'Institutional
Investors Call For Price on Carbon, End to Fossil Fuel Subsidies' in
DeSmogBlog. Good news - pressure on governments at time of climate summit
in New York. The investors include BlackRock, the world’s largest asset
manager, Swiss Re, the BBC Pension Trust Ltd., New York State Controller
and Standard Life Investments.
11sep14 'Hope
for clean economy as $20bn in green bonds are issued in 2014' "From
wind farms in Texas to energy efficiency in Mexico’s poorest
neighbourhoods, bonds might sound dull but they’re a vital weapon against
climate change. There
are two reasons why Zurich Insurance Group, one of the
largest public companies in the world, is investing $2bn in green bonds.
..." Mindy Lubber, Guardian Sustainable Business.
27aug14 'Big
power out, solar in UBS
urges investors to join renewables revolution' John Vidal, The
Guardian.
20aug14 'Oil
industry on borrowed time as switch to gas and solar accelerates'
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.
13aug14 'Citigroup: Outlook for global
solar is getting brighter' Giles Parkinson in Renew Economy. Quote
from Citigroup's new report on solar growth: “Moreover, this growth looks
set to continue for the long term, as solar takes an ever greater share of
energy generation, helped by improving economics against fossil fuels.”
13aug14 'The
Economist Ignores Reality, Highlights Flawed Renewable Energy Study'
John Rogers, senior energy analyst, Clean Energy - The Equation.
7jul14 Germany’s
KfW to issue its first ‘green bond’ - FT.com
28jun14 'Windfarms
and solar energy healthy returns for investors, but risks'
"Renewable energy schemes currently offer far greater returns to investors
than cash Isas, but there are dangers" Patrick Collinson, Money - The
Guardian.
28may14 Green
bond credentials under scrutiny - FT.com - NB: there is no set
definition of what is acceptable in a "green bond" - so each bond needs to
be assessed individually by the potential investor in this respect.
6may14 'Why
crowdfunding could break stranglehold of the 'big six' energy companies'
"A new funding stream could fill the gap left by the major banks who are
refusing to lend to community energy firms" by Ramsay
Dunning, general manager at
Co-operative Energy. Article in Guardian Sustainable Business,
Guardian Professional. He is referring to
a
"publication from ResPublica last week, Community
Energy: Unlocking Finance and Investment, which is supported by
Co-operative Energy, sets out how crowdfunding could help realise a
community energy revolution here in the UK:
May 2014 'Community
Energy: Unlocking Finance and Investment' -
Caroline Julian & Rosie Olliver of ResPublica (think tank).
Rosie Olliver "recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with
a degree in Psychology, focusing on criminology" [shouldn't
she be focusing on Cameron, Osborne and Fallon's dishonesty and dirty
deeds for promoting fossil fuels, Monsanto...? ;-) ] [NB: I
don't know about ResPublica - its underlying aims and who funds it and
pulls its strings: so that must be your judgement]
Yardsticks
or "metrics" for measuring company compliance to ethical or
fossil-free or other standards
UN:
'PRI: Principles
for Responsible Investment - An investor initiative in partnership
with UNEP Finance Initiative and UN Global Compact'.
UN PRI pdf: 'Responsible
investment and fiduciary duty' - now you can try
and find out what UN's Christiana Figueres meant by
"fiduciary duty" in her notable speech in early 2014.
See publications web-page for numerous reports, on e.g.:
ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance factors -
integrating these into
Fiduciary responsibility II:
Legal and practical aspects of integrating ESG issues into
institutional investment
2009
A legal framework for the
integration of environmental, social and governance issues into
institutional investment, 2005
2005
'Responsible
investment: The financial case' by Responsible Investment
(Edinburgh University People and Planet).
13161_ESG_Disclosure_Document_v6.pdf
FTSE
ex-fossil fuel index! - good news:
"The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has funded the creation of
FTSE Group’s ex-fossil fuel index, for global passive investments
excluding exploring, mining and reserve holding companies." - quote from:
'Environmental
lobby group backs creation of ex-fossil fuel index' IPE
29apr14 IPE is Investment & Pensions Europe.
Via tweet by Kendal's (& UK's) Rebecca Willis, and here is her
reaction: Rebecca
Willis @Bankfieldbecky Apr
30 new FTSE index
excluding fossil fuel investments - this is a massive step forward (even
if it's just a list) http://www.ipe.com/news/environmental-lobby-group-backs-creation-of-ex-fossil-fuel-index/10001648.article …
FTSE4GOOD
ESG RATINGS "FTSE4Good ESG Ratings have been designed to
objectively measure the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) risk
and performance of companies worldwide."
'What
is the difference between SRI and ESG?' Probus Sigma "Setting
investment grade standards" re Carbon, SRI, ESG, CSR, etc. "Probus Sigma
is an independent environmental investment technical research and
development facility based in Lisbon, the home of the International
Standards Community. The company is owned by its staff and partners."[I do
not know how good their advice is!]
CSR: 'What's
Wrong with Corporate Social Responsibility'
Corporate Watch
"Green Bonds" - The "" are deliberate: see 'NGOs
call for Green Bond Principles to address transparency gap' via BankTrack.org
7may15.
NGOs
aiming to improve shift to ethical/green/fossil-free investment and
ff-divestment
Visit
the ShareAction website
(ShareAction
were formerly called FairPensions - reflecting a major part of their
work - re getting ethical/green standards into Pension Funds) "ShareAction: transforming the investment
system to serve savers, society, and the environment."
Consultancies
and NGOs who advise re company performance (re ethical/green/fossil-free
standards and carbon footprinting)
(yet to fill this category)
TRUCOST
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PORTFOLIO CARBON FOOTPRINT - via John
Fleetwood 5mar14
But I'm not at all happy with Trucost's arguments in its advice to the
Environment Agency: 'Environment
Agency fund urged not to divest from carbon' IPE, 10apr14.
BlueandgreenTomorrow
- http://blueandgreentomorrow.com
- I've yet to examine this site; Looks interesting at first glance.
'The Guide to Sustainable Banking' 12oct12 - Blue and Green Tomorrow
- http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/reports/the-guide-to-sustainable-banking-2012/
http://www.investing-ethically.co.uk/about/about-investing-ethically/
Barchester Green Investment
www.barchestergreen.co.uk
"Barchester Green Investment is the UKs longest established
FCA-regulated independent financial adviser (IFA) specialising in
ethical and environmental investment."
On twitter I'm followed by a BGI Director: John Ditchfield https://twitter.com/johnditchfield
I must follow him back when I can. E.g.
read: ‘Ethical’
funds still pouring money into coal, oil and gas, new report finds "Report
by advisers Barchester Green names winners and sinners of ethical and
environmental funds industry" Rupert Jones 18oct14 in Money section of The
Guardian.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
UKSIF @UKSIF https://twitter.com/UKSIF UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association.
RTs not endorsement. London, UK · uksif.org
NEIW13 (13-19 Oct)
@NEIW13 https://twitter.com/NEIW13
FOLLOWS YOU National Ethical
Investment Week (NEIW), the campaign to raise awareness of sustainable
and ethical investment options, is coordinated by @UKSIF. UK · neiw.org
Good Money Week @goodmoneyweek Good Money Week, the campaign to raise
awareness of sustainable & ethical investment & finance,
coordinated by @UKSIF.
UK · neiw.org
Ethex @ethexuk
https://twitter.com/ethexuk First online market for positive
investments; supporting social businesses; uniting ethical
investors. #positiveinvesting #socinv Oxford UK · ethex.org.uk https://www.ethex.org.uk/about-us_26.html - worth a look -
could be worth a try (JF).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rush Farm CoOwnRushFarm @CoOwnRushFarm https://twitter.com/CoOwnRushFarm YOU can
co-own and preserve Rush Farm FOREVER: biodynamic, organic farm in the
heart of England. Also home to original Archers farm, @livchik & @lovehauschka Stock
Wood, Worcestershire, UK · stockwoodcbs.org
My Green Investment @kategilmartin
Community
renewable energy resource website mygreeninvestment.com
Trillion Fund http://www.trillionfund.com/about-us "We are a group of project developers,
asset managers, energy boffins, tech geeks, journalists and
campaigners who are all motivated by two things: helping people to do
something important with their money and generating more clean energy for
us to use. ..." https://twitter.com/TrillionFund
Tweet by Trillion Fund @TrillionFund May 1
"Fossil Free Index - the must read website if you're looking to #divest
http://ow.ly/3jTHab
"
Fossil Free Indexes - The Carbon
Underground 200 Fossil Free Indexes, LLC "The
World’s Top 200 Public Companies - Ranked by the Carbon Content of their
Fossil Fuel Reserves" [What's wrong with using the correct
spelling: indices?] see tweet
by Trillion Fund above.
Ethical Money - 3D Investing http://www.3dinvesting.com/ms/3Di/
The Cochabamba Project Ltd_ - A Unique Social Investment http://www.3dinvesting.com/ms/cochabamba.coop/ -
looks like an excellent idea!
John Fleetwood,
David Vincent The Arbolivia Project
- arbor (=tree) investment project in Bolivia.
Investing Ethically @InvEthically
https://twitter.com/InvEthically Investing Ethically Ltd-Independent
Financial Advisers specialising in socially responsible investing,
environmental and ethical investment in UK 01603 309020 Norwich,
Norfolk · investing-ethically.co.uk
@ecologyBS
Community
owned renewable energy, ethical green investment - Energy For All -
E4All
Is investing
into wind and solar good from a financial returns viewpoint (apart from
being potentially good climate-wise if replaces fossil fuels)?
Utilities in Pain Selling Renewable Assets at Record
Rate - Bloomberg 6nov13 - may shed a bit of light on this Q.
www.energy4all.co.uk
- "a not-for-profit company
established to develop and support new co-operatively owned renewable
energy projects. There are now ten successful co-ops in the
Energy4all “family” with over 9,000 members." Here are 2 of them:
Baywind - www.baywind.co.uk -
turbines in Cumbria.
Campaign against Climate Change visited Baywind on 2jun14 and here's
their write-up: Baywind
- Energy4All, Cumbria
Four
Winds Co-operative - www.fourwinds.coop
- turbines in Yorkshire, Lancashire, ... but office-base in Cumbria: Four
Winds Energy Co-operative, Unit 26 Trinity Enterprise Centre, Furness
Business Park, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, LA14 2PN
MORE
Renewables - www.morerenewables.co.uk - Morecambe
Bay Community Renewables. One of their directors - Anne Chapman
- added useful advice and enthusiasm at NW Transition Conference energy
workshop 12july14.
Gower Power Community Cooperative
- www.gowerpower.coop
- e.g. Renewable
Energy web-page and on twitter: Ant Flanagan
@GowerPowerCoop https://twitter.com/GowerPowerCoop
Examples of web-pages in summer 2014: Share
Offer Pre-registration and Support
Gower Power co-op
14mar14 'Plymouth
Energy Community's solar share scheme backed by council' Simon Read
- Spend & Save - Money - The Independent - links to: www.plymouthenergycommunity.com/invest
.
Dr Raj Thamotheram - President of Network for Sustainable Financial
Markets, Co-founder of Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change
Egni @egnicoop Feb 7 Great launch yesterday of Wales' first solar pv
coop. Thanks all for coming. Please invest and RT! http://www.egni.coop
http://egni.coop/
March 2013 FoE recommend you
start up an account with Triodos (FoE benefits from that via them): LINK
HERE.
Becky Willis has written at least one blog page on her
thoughts re investing into green renewable energy projects. e.g.:
'Want
to buy a wind farm Now’s your chance…' Rebecca Willis
16apr14 Independent Researcher & Vice-Chair of the UK
Sustainable Development Commission. Refers to e.g.:
Shared
Ownership Taskforce - Groups - GOV.UK - Becky works in
this. Is part of:
Community
Energy Strategy - Publications - GOV.UK
Good Energy in 2013 had a very popular and rapidly subscribed offer of a
chance to invest in their wind projects with a likely good rate of return.
I wish I had been able to grasp that opportunity at the time!
CERES (US-based)
"investors, including the Ceres coalition which manages $3tn collectively,
have demanded fossil
fuel companies confront openly the risk of a "carbon bubble", by
either diverting their investment to clean energy or giving the money back
to shareholders" - Damian Carrington, 10apr14, here.
SOLAR SCHOOLS and SOLAR on
SCHOOLS
Solar
Schools http://www.solarschools.org.uk/
supported by 10:10, Good
Energy and others.
'UK
Partnership Helps 50 Schools Raise Nearly $600,000 to Go Solar' -
Brandon Baker 6may14, EcoWatch.
Solar
on Schools project offers green investors 'tangible, ethical
assets' - Simon Read - Spend & Save - Money - The Independent
18apr14. Via Greenpeace EnergyDesk. Shame about the inappropriate choice
of photo; annoying. Links to:
Abundance - The renewable energy investment & lending
platform https://www.abundancegeneration.com/
@AbundanceGen
"Making it possible for people to invest
in UK renewable energy projects #crowdfunding. Your capital may be
at risk and estimated returns are variable.Shepherd's Bush, London · abundancegeneration.com".
Bing search engine on 'engynious' brought up e.g.:
https://www.engynious.com/en/
Engynious » SEEd http://se-ed.co.uk/edu/engynious/
"ENGYNIOUS SOLAR PROGRAMME FOR SCHOOLS Engynious Clean Power (UK) Ltd is
member of the Engynious Group, which delivers solutions for the generation
and use of solar energy. In collaboration with SEEd, Engynious has
set up the Engynious SEEd Schools Solar Programme which helps schools in
the UK link a free solar PV system to a programme that brings them
environmental, economic and social gains."
'Yet
Another Solar Schools Initiative Launches In The UK' - comment on
above by CleanTechnica (US).
This may help implementation of solar on schools: 'Friends
of the Earth Help schools go solar' FoE petition to Gove to
change Gov rules that get in the way (red tape for removal? - as opposed
to good green tape).
.................................................................................
WREN Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network - www.wren.uk.com/ - info via
Mick Gander (thanks for that Mick) - looks like a great website.
About WREN: "WREN
is
a not-for-profit co-operative, owned and run by its members, working to
transform energy from an individual cost to a collective asset. See 'Why
WREN' for a fuller account. WREN
works to raise income from renewable generation for local projects, to
help cut energy use (and fuel bills), and to bring the wider economic
benefits that come the early adoption of the low carbon economy,
including high value employment. WREN’s
own income is directed to those community projects and investments
chosen by its members.
WREN has three broad principles:..." - visit site to find out!
.................................................................................
Sources of expertise for
advice and funding for starting up community energy / co-operative
energy projects etc
I know very little about this; I'm at info-collation stage.
www.ukcec.org
On twitter as: Community
Energy @UKCEC
The Community Energy Coalition: 35 orgs with millions
of members promoting#communityenergy.
Running Community Energy Fortnight from 13th - 28th September 2014. UK ukcec.org
12jul14
Renewable Energy Workshop - Transition Roadshow
Transition Network NW Transition Conference at Lancaster Anne
Chapman of MORE writes: "Lots of interest here in creating a NW Regional
Network for Community Energy. Anyone interested in setting up renewable
energy projects or in creating an energy co-operative contact below for
support and mentoring" Note: mentoring available.
www.energy4all.co.uk
- "a not-for-profit company
established to develop and support new co-operatively owned renewable
energy projects. There are now ten successful co-ops in the
Energy4all “family” with over 9,000 members."
My Green Investment - "Community
Interest Company" www.mygreeninvestment.com
"Community renewable energy resource website" https://twitter.com/kategilmartin
Energy Prospects - www.energyprospects.coop
According to FourWinds: "Energy
Prospects (www.energyprospects.coop)
who specialise in providing the funding and expertise to get potential
community renewable energy projects through to post-planning approval
stage." provided finance for the development phase of the
FourWinds projects.
Companies
that do the investments and/or investment portfolios for you
NB: being
listed here does not mean I've checked them to be OK: you must make that
judgement.
Triodos
Ecology Building Society
People
Clean energy entrepreneur Assaad Razzouk
worth following on twitter. Writes interesting articles in Independent
too.
http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/assaad-w-razzouk
https://twitter.com/AssaadRazzouk