Sustainable Investing: What is It, Exactly?

Julie Starr • May 26, 2020

A growing number of investors focus on sustainable organizations and eco-friendly projects. You may have heard about sustainable investing but aren’t sure quite what it means. If so, these details can help you.

Defining Sustainable Investing

Building wealth through sustainable investing involves putting your investment in the future. Essentially, as an investor, you are putting your money toward companies that dedicate themselves toward challenges that impact the world’s future.

By investing in this way, your money can go toward helping future generations and creating a better world for those who are here now too. It’s also a smart investment given that caring for the future is never going to go out of style.

By taking this approach, you have a bigger purpose than only profit. You consider social, environmental, and governance (ESG) insights with traditional processes to create outcomes over the long-term.

Deciding Where, When, and How to Invest

Whether you are a new or more experienced investor, making decisions about investment strategies can feel overwhelming. To help make the process easier, tap into online resources for investors and landlords . Look for resources that update often so you always get the latest information to reflect the current landscape. You could look at the latest indices trading options, for example.

Sustainable Investing: Three Main Considerations

For your long-term investment outcome to be positive, you as the sustainable investor will consider:

Environmental

Climate risks and clean energy are key considerations here.

Social

Human rights and cybersecurity are two examples.

Governance

Business ethics and, at the opposite end, corruption, are among the ones to consider.

Putting Value on Sustainable Investing Assets

The 2018 Global Sustainable Investment Review found the value of sustainable investing assets is growing worldwide and has been since 2016. Europe has the highest concentration of this type of asset globally, totaling 14.1 trillion.

That same report identified the US as the second biggest region based on its value on sustainable investing assets. The assets went from $8.7 trillion in the beginning of 2016 to $12 trillion just two years later.

Japan’s numbers also increased significantly, quadrupling from 2016 to 2018. That makes Japan the third largest sustainable investing center, on the heels of Europe and the US.

While sustainable investments are not new, the popularity of them is a recent trend. Many investors are starting to realize the benefits of investing for impact.

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Keep Your Business Comfortable And Yet Sustainable

By Julie Starr • 11 May, 2024

Keeping your business comfortable and yet sustainable is a great idea. By keeping your business sustainable, you are doing your part for the planet, ensuring that you are doing something to take care of it. A lot of businesses don’t bother with this, but that’s the problem. You need to be different, and work out how you’re going to keep your business comfortable and sustainable at the same time. That’s what we’re going to be working on today, so keep reading if you’re interested in learning more. How Are You Powering Your Locations? The first thing that we’re going to say is that you need to think about how you are powering your locations. Whether it’s a business office, a warehouse, or any other large space, you need to think about the way that you are powering it. If you are using traditional electricity then you’re going to be contributing to part of the problem. We only have so much fossil fuel available, and it’s killing the planet to use. It’s a better idea to use a renewable form of power such as solar or wind, depending on where you live and the weather conditions. Look into this as an option if you can. We’re not saying that you have to completely rely on one or the other, you could use a combination as well as traditional power. Any power that’s coming from somewhere else is a bonus! Keep The Spaces Comfortable For Employees Employees work in a variety of places for your business. Again, perhaps some work in an office, some work in a warehouse, and some work in other locations, but they all need to be kept comfortable. For example, if we take the warehouse and you think about it, it’s not that comfortable, right? You’re not going to have couches and plush chairs all over the place, but you can still make it as comfortable as possible. You could use an industrial drum fan or something similar to keep the space cool, ensuring that your employees are content working there. Ensure Recycling Is A Top Priority The final important point that we want to make is that you should ensure that recycling is a top priority . It has been pushed on people for a long time now, and it’s essential that you are doing this to the best of your ability. Reusing materials wherever possible gives your company a more sustainable approach to business, setting the example for others. Recycling is the very least that you can do, it’s not hard, but it makes a world of difference to the planet. We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you should be doing to ensure that your business is comfortable and sustainable. We do understand that for some companies this is going to be a little more difficult than others, but there are always ways if you are dedicated enough. We wish you the very best of luck, and hope that you manage going forward.

Is Your Small Business an Appealing Place to Work?

By Julie Starr • 07 May, 2024

Bringing passionate, enthusiastic and talented people into your business is obviously a top priority when you’re growing a company. However, the only way to onboard the brightest talent is by ensuring that your brand is an appealing place to work. Driven employees have certain expectations when it comes to choosing their ideal workplace, so you need to show them what you have to offer. Whether you’re looking into your business ethos , or reassessing certain compensation plans, you can do so much to ensure you’re attracting the best possible employees. Consider some of the following methods and your small business will soon be the go-to place for skilled, driven and talented individuals to work. Pay and Benefits Should Be Competitive When you’re running a small business, the idea of paying regular salaries to your employees will always be on your mind. Keeping up with bills and ever rising costs will never be easy, but you have to offer a competitive salary in order to attract the right type of people to your business. You should also consider all elements of a compensation plan so that your employees always feel valued for their contributions at your workplace. It may be worth talking to your current staff members to see what would be most important to them so you can assess it in the near future. Create a Career Development Plan Working towards the next goal is certainly something that most career driven individuals are keen to do. Staying stagnant in the same role for a prolonged period of time can reduce motivation and cause issues with staff retention. Making sure that there are clear progression opportunities will help to bring in the most talented and focused employees who are willing to put in the work and climb the ladder within your business. Adopt an Eco-Conscious Approach More and more employees are looking for workplaces that put the environment at the forefront and actively choose sustainable processes. Taking care of the planet and going green with your business may help you to align with the right talent for your company. Although this might not be the priority of everyone, it’s certainly a very popular value that a number of people carry in the modern day. Working in an environment where sustainability is a priority is extremely appealing and these people will help you to work alongside like minded colleagues within your business. Your small business goes above and beyond you as an individual; it’s also about the people who work for you and the potential employees you could be onboarding very soon. You can be sure that you’re reaching out to the right type of people and attracting the best possible talent by offering competitive salaries and benefits and working in a sustainable way that always keeps the environment in mind too. Hopefully, these ideas will give you a huge advantage when it comes to bringing in new people who would be an asset to your business.