October 8, 2007
· Filed under Ethical Finance, green money, socially responsible investing · Tagged charity credit cards, ehtical credit cards, Ethical Finance, ethical funds, green credit cards, green funds, green money
1984 saw the arrival of the first UK Ethical Fund. An ethical fund invests in companies that give something back to the community. This can be in the form of creating a product that is of benefit to members of the community such as hearing aids for the deaf or that puts money back into the community.
Green funds on the other hand invest in products, services or processes that help the environment. Beware, a green fund may also invest in companies that are not ‘ethical.’ If you are unsure it’s best to consult a financial advisor and stipulate what exactly you are looking for.
As I’ve mentioned before, green and ethical funds are on the up. However, if you are looking to invest your money it’s good to way up the pros and cons of soley investing in one particular type of fund. The Co-operative Bank give lots of useful information so take a look at their site for more info.
Over the last few months so called ‘green’ and ‘charity’ credit cards have taken a beating from some financial advisors. Some people feel that the rates you get from a green/charitable credit card are not as good as those from ‘normal’ credit cards and that you would be better off taking a ‘normal’ deal and having a monthly direct debit to charity. What are other people’s thoughts on this? Would be good to have your opinions………..
Over the next few weeks I’ll take a look at who are offering ethical and green funds and what the benefits are. If you have any tips feel free to post a comment.
October 8, 2007
· Filed under Companies going green, Ethical Finance · Tagged ethical avertising, ethical junction, green consumers
Today I came across an article published in the Idependent called ‘Ethical Promotion: The future is green as adland cleans up its act.’ It would appear that advertising agencies have now jumped on the bandwagon….
So what actually is ‘ethical advertising?’ According to the article ‘By thoroughly vetting potential clients, they argue, it’s possible to make sure they only take on companies and causes whose moral, social and/or environmental values they share.‘ So there we have it. At the forefront of this campagin is Ethical Junction who are ‘an online network of businesses that are “positively screened” to ensure they meet strict standards relating to diversity, employment practices and environmental sustainability.’
Ethical Junction have recently announced Ethical Ads that will allow business to advertise for a flat fee on their website. This will mean that big companies such as the Cooperative Bank will pay the same as your local farmer who sells organic veg. This is excellent news for small companies who need to get off the ground. It also allows the consumer to be safe in the knowledge that the companies on the site have already been screened. I might just take a look myself!
The article also looks at a few other companies who are beginning to ‘go green.’ Check out the article for yourself at http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article3013288.ece.
October 2, 2007
· Filed under Ethical Finance · Tagged carbon neutral, Co-operative Bank, ehtical finance, green money, Marks&Spencer, organic products, Tesco
Anyone who has picked up a newspaper or watched the news on the television over the last few months can’t help but notice that the current buzz words are ‘green’ and ‘ethical.’ Politicians are firmly on the bandwagon and partly due to the government offering incentives for being carbon neutral, so are the big companies. Obviously some companies are more ethically minded than others. For example the Co-Operative Bank have always had an ethical policy.
Recently both Tesco and Marks&Spencer have announced so called ‘green’ policies. Tesco is to have carbon labelling on 70,000 product lines and M&S have announced a £220million programme to be carbon neutral by 2012.
There are other statistics to suggest the public’s changing viewpoint on ethical and green matters. A recent MORI poll indicated that 78% of us want companies to tell us about their responsibility to customers, employees, communities and the environment. Mintel predict that British shoppers will spend £2million on Fair Trade and organic products in 2007. This will be a 62% increase from 2002.
The indications are that it’s not just shoppers who are ethically minded but investors as well. The Co-Operative Bank has shown that monies in ethical finance (that’s ethical banking and investment) now invest £11.6 billion a year. That’s up from £10.6 billion in 2005. No wonder that ‘green’ money is the fastest growing sector at the moment!!
