World Book Day 2013: six essential sustainable investment titles

If our Guide to Sustainable Investment 2013 has whet your appetite for essential intelligence, we recommend reading the following six excellent books on the subject.

– Investing in a Sustainable World: Why Green is the New Color of Money on Wall Street

By Matthew J Kiernan

Investing in a Sustainable World proves that going green leads to better stock market performance using hard facts, undeniable statistics and solid documentation. Offering an enhanced approach to investing that is beneficial to both investors and companies, this book shows a clear link between sustainability initiatives and clear-cut profitability.

– Green Money: How to Save and Invest Ethically (Financial Intelligence)

By Sarah Pennells

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking – Japanese author Haruki Murakami

Green Money is an essential guide to ethical and sustainable investment, filled from cover to cover with accessible information and valuable advice. Talented author Sarah Pennells talks readers through developing a financial plan that is not only sustainable for them, but also for the planet, whilst avoiding the potential pitfalls of hasty decisions.

– Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet

By Tim Jackson

Is more economic growth the solution? Will it deliver prosperity and well-being for a global population projected to reach nine billion? In this book, the author Tim Jackson – a top sustainability adviser to the UK government – makes a compelling case against continued economic growth in developed nations.

– Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long Term Performance

From Routledge

Sustainable investing has grown beyond being a niche concern and is fast becoming a very solid method for generating long-term returns. Global issues, such as climate change, have conventional investors in a spin; this book attempts to capture the tipping point of a global finance revolution and covers the rise, current impact and future prospects of sustainable investment.

– Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

By Daniel C Esty, Andrew Winston

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads – American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson

Experts Daniel C Esty and Andrew Winston attack the hot topic of environmental responsibility by firstly making a succinct business case for sustainability and then by exploring the strategies of best-in-class companies. Using jargon-free prose and practical advice, the valuable insights delivered are a must read for anyone affected by sustainable business practices—which should be us all.

– The Green Investing Handbook: A Detailed Investment Guide To The Technologies And Companies Involved In The Sustainability Revolution

By Nick Hanna

Described as a bible by some, Nick Hanna’s Green Investing Handbook hones in on the issues that concern individuals looking to align profit with environmental responsibility. Standout firms operating in the key green technology sectors are covered as are the trends of those sectors and the industry as a whole. Most importantly it offers advice on how to approach green investing and focuses on the most important promising green funds, ETFs and private equity funds.

Further reading:

The Guide to Sustainable Investment 2013