4 Awesome Environmentally-Friendly Approaches to Investing

Global investors are more concerned with sustainability than ever. A recent analysis by the Global Sustainable Investment Review showed that over $35 trillion investment assets are rated as being sustainable.

Unfortunately, not all investors that want to pursue an eco-friendly route know how to do so. Making green investments is not always easy. If you want to invest in individual companies, you will need to do ample research to ensure that they actually are “green” investments. Fortunately, individual company stock is not the only way to invest. As technology advances, there are more and more ways to invest in environmentally-friendly ways.

However, it is also important to understand the hard facts of ethical investing, such as the kind of investments you should avoid. After all, if you invest half of your money in a green investment vehicle and the other half in a very non-green investment vehicle, then they will essentially cancel each other out. For example, as it currently stands, cryptocurrency is not a green way to invest.

In fact, producing crypto has proven to be extremely detrimental to the environment. Plus, crypto is known to be unpredictable, so it may not be a good long-term investment either way. Some cryptocurrencies are more sustainable than others, but there is still a debate as to whether eco-friendly cryptocurrency even exists.

In today’s article, we are going to take a closer look at 4 environmentally-friendly ways to invest. So, let’s get started!

Invest In Yourself

It may sound strange, but investing in yourself is one of the greenest ways to invest. After all, if you can find ways to invest in your future, you can find additional ways to give back to the environment with your time, energy, and ideas. For example, if you are struggling with health issues, you should make healthcare your top priority. Even if you just have a bunion, consider looking to the experts at Northwest Surgery Center for minimally invasive bunion surgery.

Green Stocks and Bonds

Naturally, investing in yourself takes time and it is not always easy to see the payoff (for yourself or the planet). Fortunately, investing in green stocks and bonds is a little more straightforward. With a little bit of research, you can generally separate the green companies and stocks from those that do little or nothing to help the environment. Ask Traders has a blog post about some of the best eco-friendly stocks to invest in. Additionally, many investment apps like Acorns and Robinhood can help you find green stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds if you are unfamiliar with doing the research on your own.

Eco-Friendly Housing

Many people unknowingly lose a lot of energy due to outdated housing designs. Fortunately, you can invest in upgrades to your home to make them more eco-friendly. These can be as simple as more energy-efficient LED light bulbs or upgraded seals on all of your windows and doors. By making several of these investments, you can save hundreds of dollars per year on your utility bills — if not more.

Renewable Energy

While small changes to create a more eco-friendly home are a great start, you can make much greater long-term investments by getting involved with renewable energy. Wind and solar energy installations are the most common options. For example, by investing in solar panels to put on the roof of your home, you could literally cut down your energy consumption to zero. If you produce more energy than you consume, you could even sell your energy back to the public for a healthy profit.