We are big believers in CSR investing. Here's a great option as first introduced yesterday:
Work With a Financial Advisor
As a socially responsible investor, you can invest with water issues in mind—in individual stocks, mutual funds, and more. For assistance, find several financial advisors who specialize in SRI in the “Financial—Advisors & Planners” category at GreenPages.org.
Larry Dohrs of Newground Social Investments in Seattle, WA, notes that an SRI advisor can help you avoid investing in companies with records of polluting or wasting water resources.
“Companies involved in natural gas fracking are probably the ones that are at the most severe risk of being screened out due to water use,” he says. Fracking involves fracturing layers of rock deep within the Earth’s surface, a process that uses millions of gallons of water and has been tied to severe groundwater pollution in nearby communities.
A good advisor can also help you “screen in” positive investments in companies that work on water security.
If you want to make more change, says Dohrs, finding an SRI advisor who helps you engage in shareholder activism is a great way to go. Your proxy ballots from individual stocks that you hold will go to your advisor, not to you. Let your advisor know that you want him/her to pass them on to you, so you can vote with your values. If you don’t vote your proxies, your votes default to management’s recommendations.
Water-Related Community Investments
“Land use is important for protecting and maintaining our water supply, says Charlotte Kaiser of the Nature Conservancy. “How the lands surrounding our rivers and lakes are used and developed affects quantity and quality of water.”
This nonprofit’s Conservation Note helps channel capital to high-priority conservation projects around the world. In exchange for a lower-than-average rate of return, you’ll maximize the environmental impact of your investment, helping to fund projects that conserve natural areas, restore drinking water supplies, and improve lives, says Kaiser.
High-net-worth individuals can invest in a Conservation Note for a minimum of $25,000 for one, three, or five years. Investors may select a rate of return between zero and two percent.
Last year, Oikocredit, a microfinance investing organization, began a $1 million project in India to boost sanitary facilities, water purification, and other infrastructure. With as little as $20, you can invest in projects through its international loan fund:oikocreditusa.org/invest/. Investments are for one, three, or five years and earn two percent interest.
Get Your Feet Wet!
By making a shift in your investments— choosing a water-conscious mutual fund, talking to your financial advisor about your water options, and voting your proxies for water rights—you help lay the groundwork the world needs to face the coming water challenges.
“Water is [one of] the biggest resource issues,” says Zoe. “It’s just a fact of life that we are dependent on a finite amount of water.”
—Martha van Gelder
No comments:
Post a Comment