Green Investing: What We Need to Know

About $51 Billion Per Year is Going into Green Investing

 When we think about investing, we typically think about traditional and Roth IRAs and 401K accounts.

 However, many big investors and institutions are taking a different approach. They are pouring money into green and sustainability-focused investments and investment funds—about $51 billion per year and counting.

These are investments in organizations working to make the world a cleaner, more sustainable, and healthier place.

If you can excuse the expression, these investors now see green in Green and believe these investments will pay off well into the future.

“But before getting on the green investment bandwagon, there we should know there are different Green investment strategies,” says Steve Ashkin, the leading advocate for green cleaning and sustainability in the professional cleaning industry.  “While they have similar goals, they do differ.”

According to Ashkin, among these green investment strategies are the following:

SRI: Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is an investment strategy that seeks focuses on advancing social change, a specific, green-related cause, or a belief. SRI investors shun companies that deal in tobacco, alcohol, or fossil fuel production. Instead, they put their money into organizations focused on environmental stewardship, social equity, and protecting consumer health.

SI: Sustainable Investing involves investing in companies centered on the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and profits. Typically, these investments go into organizations fighting climate risk, environmental destruction, and fostering corporate responsibility.

GI: Green Investing invests in organizations that have implemented green and sustainability business practices in their day-to-day operations. They are committed to conserving natural resources, developing renewable energy sources, and educating the public about green initiatives.

“As you can see, there is some overlap in each type of green investing,” adds Ashkin. “And they overlap somewhere else as well. According to a study by investment research company Morningstar, many investors are surprised [at] how well some green investments have paid off.”