Features

Banks creating money; Islamic investments; sustainable agriculture – Quote Bank: June 2-8

Published

12 years ago

June 10, 2012

Blue & Green Tomorrow

A good quote makes all the difference. Here’s the pick of the past week.

“The stuff that most of us think of as money – the cash that you use in shops – only makes up 3% of all the money that exists. The vast majority of it – the other 97% – is electronic money, which is what you see in your account when you check your balance at an ATM” – Ben Dyson, founder and director of Positive Money. Reforming the banking system for good.

“In the UK, the number of Muslims who take out Islamic-based savings products is pretty low. But if you compare this to the size of the conventional savings industry, there’s quite a significant potential for growth within the community” – Johnny Russell, co-manager of the SWIP Islamic Global Equity Fund. Islamic investment industry predicts exponential growth.

“This, it has to be said, does represent something of a trend in the market with funds moving to styles such as socially responsible or thematic, with the emphasis being on positive reasons to invest and good governance – rather than the strict exclusionary criteria of the original ethical fund” – Julian Parrott, financial adviser at Ethical Futures. F&C updates investment policy to allow unethical sectors.

“Even if we do increase agricultural output by 60%, the world would still have 300m people hungry in 2050” – Jose Graziano da Silva, FAO director-general. Sustainability at the heart of food and agriculture.

“I wanted to demonstrate that it was possible to produce food of the highest quality, working in harmony with the environment and nature, using the best ingredients and adding value through expert production” – The Prince of Wales. The Prince of Wales: a royally green influence.

“The ESG approach is about uncovering a hidden risk or a promising opportunity not always obvious when taking a purely financial view of investments” – Matt Christensen, global head of responsible investment for AXA Investment Managers. AXA signs deals to bolster its responsible investment pledge.

“The fact is that a Cardiff-Western barrage would lead to the loss of between 60% and 80% of feeding inter-tidal habitat in the estuary” – Peter Jones, RSPB ecosystems officer. Severn estuary: the tidal barrage debate continues.

“If current trends continue, if current patterns of production and consumption of natural resources prevail and cannot be reversed and ‘decoupled’, then governments will preside over unprecedented levels of damage and degradation” – Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and United Nations Environment Programme executive director. UN warns of environmental destabilisation.

“This has been a very good year of progress with 43 additional commitments achieved. But we know that we still have much to do as we work towards our 2015 targets” – Richard Gillies, director of Marks and Spencer’s Plan A, CSR and sustainable business. M&S becomes carbon neutral and saves millions.

“Everywhere in the world, wherever farmers farm, should be put on sustainable footing. Just imagine if we could move farmers from subsistence to sustainability” – Caroline Spelman, UK secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs. Two-week siren sounds for Rio+20.

“People want to align their money with their values, and there is growing recognition on behalf of financial advisers that they need sustainable and impact investment products to offer their clients” – Lisa Hall, president and CEO of Calvert Foundation. Survey reveals promising trends for sustainable investment.