Hey there! I’m in a bit of a pickle: I suffer a lot from the climate crisis and often find myself cursing the newspaper. In disbelief, I see how together we have created a situation that is untenable. I read reports like Lufthansa only flying empty planes to keep their landing rights. Will there be no one, then, in the administration, there at the airlines, the airports, the government perhaps, who thinks: ‘wait a minute, let’s not do that. We all understand that there will be less flying – good! – so let’s exempt airlines.’ Or something like that.
Or Tata steel, which just continues to operate haphazardly, despite having long been shown to be utterly destroying the environment.
Disbelief in boardrooms
I read that over the past 3 decades, the 100 largest companies in the world are responsible for 71% of fossil fuel emissions. What I find most remarkable is: every individual will feel that we have a problem and that we really need to do something about it. Except for a few idiots. Everyone does want to do her/his part. Until these individuals collectively sit in the boardrooms of major corporations. Then they think emerging quarterly figures are more important.
And that is also enormously difficult to change, because as an individual you are a small link in a big picture. However, I do resent that governments and companies are calling on consumers to “do their part because together we are strong. That smacks of green washing. Those 100 large companies, they need to start doing their part.
But as I said, this really bothers me. So I’m going to see for my own peace of mind what I can do, can mean. And hopefully with ELFIN’s outreach, inspire other people also to look at: how can I make an impact with my money. Because with ELFIN, we promote that women should start investing. That means they build wealth faster, and with this wealth they can in turn make an impact. Did you know that women are more likely than men to be willing to invest back into society and community? So more money in the hands of women is good for all of society!
What can we do ourselves?
Anyway, what can we do ourselves? That starts with not investing in … I’ll name a few… Shell. Or ExxonMobile. Or Tata Steel. On the other hand, these are the companies with deep pockets, so if there is strength in innovation anywhere, it is there. Oh oh, the government. If only they knew how to be stricter.
There is much we can do without, such as: eating (a lot of) meat, buying junk from these kinds of chains, and taking the train more often instead of flying. If we all did that, it would certainly help. So much for the “what can we leave” aspect, because my interest is also in: what can we DO?
As long as “money rules the world,” money can also mean making an impact. That you can support certain initiatives, that companies can innovate and that we can turn the tide. So in the “what can we do” angle, I think we can do a lot with our money, with our investments.
I invest, every month. With my investments, I’m basically saying, ‘here, companies! I support and back you with my money! So being picky in which companies I support can certainly make a difference. But how can you find a good sustainable investment while observing the golden rules of investment (spread, low cost, long horizon)?
This is still quite difficult. You can invest in companies you’re a fan of that focus on making the world a better and sustainable place. You can look into crowdfunding where you can support local initiatives and entrepreneurs. Or you look for funds where you can invest well diversified, in funds that represent only sustainable companies. There are high impact funds, but sometimes you can only invest from €100,000 onwards in those. What to do with a smaller scholarship? Here some options:
Triodos.
At Triodos you can bank but also invest. They have sustainable impact funds and theme funds. With the latter, you can invest in themes that are important to you, such as energy transition or emerging economy. The only downside … the returns are lower than if you invested in an MSCI or S&P 500 index. For me, it is important to “beat” inflation at least in terms of returns. Fund costs are also a bit on the high side, but that makes sense since the funds have to be put together manually.
Rize ETFs
Another option I am considering are the Rize ETFs. Rize is a thematic ETF builder, where you can choose very specific themes to invest in. For example, there is the Rize Sustainable Future of Food UCITS ETF. See more for more information on this ETF here.
Rize has another ETF I have my eye on: Rize Environmental 100 UCITS ETF. An ETF that tracks an index (the Foxberry SMS Environmental Impact 100 Index) containing the 100 most innovative and impactful companies that can potentially benefit from developing and implementing solutions that address the world’s most pressing climate and environmental challenges. These include leaders and innovators in clean water, electric vehicles, renewables and hydrogen, energy efficiency, waste and the circular economy. See here for more information on this ETF.
Disadvantages of these ETFs? They have not been around very long, so there is not yet as much power in these trackers as in, say, the mainstream Vanguard All World. That could be a risk, namely that the fund is not lucrative enough and they pull the plug. The irony. In addition, fund fees are slightly higher. I take it for granted (that last one).
Where to buy.
You can buy the Rize Sustainable Food ETF at Degiro. At Degiro I do not see the option of the Rize Enviromental Impact 100, but I see that it is available at BUX Zero. The former is otherwise also available through BUX Zero.
And beyond that?
Other than that, I try not to drive myself too crazy. I already have a social impact business (hey, that sounds cool! But it’s true: with ELFIN, we are committed to making an impact in society and ensuring more money in the hands of women), try to be a good person, have sworn off shopping at H&M and other fast fashion chains, for distances less than 1000 kilometers ideally travel by train and in terms of animal products…. okay I admit it: I love cheese fondue. I blame it on the Swiss boyfriend!
I try to do well without suffering too much. That is what I have been doing recently. But that is also a waste, and unnecessary. Something about balance. Most of all, I hope I manage to inspire you an inimitable bit to at least take a look at the Triodos or Rize site.
