zmotion

Green has become a big deal. Are you wondering if there’s any profit in green investing? Not too many years ago you had to be a hardcore “treehugger” to think there was a chance that going green could be good for the economy or for personal gain. It was just something that appeared to be the right thing to do, even if the return on investment was a loss. Today, however, green is everywhere — green is golden — green is cool, but just because marketing has turned on the green spotlights, it doesn’t mean that everything is as green as it appears.

Short-Termism

It has always been a dark motive — the desire to generate short-term results no matter what the long-term cost. Get-the-money-now businesses that give you slick talk and slipshod results have been around forever. The temptation to shortcut success is strong. It got to be epidemic. Short-termism has had its get-rich-quick results long enough and there may still be a few tricks left. Short-termism is fueled by greed and fear of loss. Impulse decisions based on greed or fear may give short-term satisfaction, but the long-term cost can be deadly.

A truly green business, by contrast, is a socially responsible business. It is not only about green buzzwords, but more importantly, it values the general well-being of its customers, its community and its employees for the long term. If socially responsible investing is important to you, then read on . . .

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is when a petrochemical company acts like it’s green because it mixes 10% biofuel with its 90% hydrocarbon gasoline or because it has an experimental fuel cell project. It could be a hotel chain that posts placards that it’s green because it conserves natural resources by not changing your linens every day. I think you get the idea. Exposing the greenwash involves making sure that when a company claims to be green, it uses socially responsible practices throughout its corporate policy. Is this company committing any of the seven greenwash sins? What really makes a product or service green? Does this company support your own values and beliefs?

Select a Green Investing Sector

Green investing encompasses a variety of sectors such as natural products and organic foods, environmental remediation, renewable energy, pollution controls, non-toxic practices, community involvement, energy-saving products, innovative solutions and there are even consulting firms that help businesses become greener. These sectors are then broken down further into subgroups. Your social, personal and environmental values help you focus on which green investing sector is most attractive for you. As you concentrate on the various factors, the companies who demonstrate the leadership to move forward in these areas will begin to rise above the others. Once you decide this, you have a company you can be passionate about supporting and, hopefully, the company will not only impress you with their innovations, but also reward your passion with financial growth.

Green Investment Strategy

Green investing can be as tricky and as problematic as any other type of investing and that is why you need a plan. Create a strategy for your green investment to help you make an informed decision that is in line with your belief system and that has the potential to be financially lucrative. Your green investment strategy should include:

• Asking a lot of relevant questions
• Looking over Sustainability Indexes
• Considering Benefit Corporations
• Reading Annual Reports as well as CSR Reports
• Talking with a Green Investment Analyst

An investment should be more than just an instrument to gain personal wealth. Of course, if you didn’t believe it would be profitable, it wouldn’t be a wise move. Right? What if you were to think of your investment as an action/belief statement about your core values? What you do with your money actually says more about what you believe than what you say.

If you know that the capital you invest is going to result in harm to innocent people, but you do it anyway because it is reported to give a good return — well, you know what that is. It’s just wrong! Something doesn’t have to be illegal to be wrong. Why not make a quality decision to invest in ventures that accomplish what you believe in?

I believe that I can only commit the resources at my disposal – time, energy, money – into products or businesses that are sustainable, life-giving and socially responsible. I wholeheartedly recommend that you do the same. I have put a great deal of thought, research and soul searching into ideas that will benefit the world we live in and future generations. I believe that we must turn the corner – effect paradigm shifts and make the hard decisions that our grandchildren will enjoy and, hopefully, we will be able to enjoy.

Want a great example? Meet a company that has become a world leader in solar energy manufacturing and installation — First Solar, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. They are a publicly traded company and I quote from their own company release, “Protecting the environment and conserving natural resources are at the forefront of First Solar’s mission and core values.” Over 2 gigawatts of solar electric power has been produced by them and they just had a record-breaking year.

Because of their commitment to manufacture and install low-cost, high output, high longevity products, they are not only a major producer of renewable energy products, but they are pushing toward the goal of lowering the cost of solar panels to under $1/watt. Additionally, they have established an aggressive program to recover and recycle damaged or replaced product from previous installations so that sustainability is inevitable.

Green building practices, green agriculture, green energy, green industry, fresh water projects are all sustainable endeavors for the economy of future generations. Markets will reflect the decisions that investors make. We haven’t even begun to see what can happen in 10, 20, 50 years if we make up our minds to do it and to devote whatever resources we can into it.

Green is here to stay. It’s not just a hot fad. It is key to the future of all life on earth. The real question that should be asked and is being asked more and more is “How do we plan and how do we invest so that we grow an economy that is truly sustainable?”

Because demand is outstripping production, the petroleum industry will dry up and give way to the growth of green energy. This is inevitable, regardless of my opinion or yours. Peak Oil studies done 50 years ago are playing out in current events today. I believe renewable energy resources such as wind, solar and geothermal are clearly the most promising alternatives, but bio-fuels and biomass technologies may also play important roles in future markets.

As recent as 60 years ago, enormous tracts of land were deteriorating from fertile timber growth to barren land because of deforestation practices. There was no plan for reforestation. There was no forethought of soil conservation practices. Soil erosion further complicated the reversal of this natural dilemma and made it difficult to reforest on degraded soil. Fortunately, the timber industry began to plan and develop strategies that were not only green, but financially sustainable. The result – green investments systematically transformed the timber industry into one of the most stable markets on earth.

Nature has phenomenal recuperative abilities, but the unrelenting extraction of natural resources has demonstrated that some resources can never be replaced.  Once consumed and turned into carbon gases and particulate matter, there is no recycling of petroleum-based fuels. Implementing every possible plan to encourage the use of renewable fuels is a step towards rebuilding global economics. Just as a methodical reforestation plan to replace cut timber with new trees and better growing and harvesting methods, energy plans can do the same thing. There are some situations where there is no possible means of a reversal, but there are paradigm shifts that can avert disaster and create growth.

Every plan has its subtle differences, but the common thread is the intentional strategic investment of time, energy and capital that captures the vision of perpetual growth and viable sustainability. There will always be consumable products, but the industries that produce consumables must exercise wisdom and understanding. They must employ green business practices and socially responsible thinking to assure the continuity of the natural resources that feed their industry.

It is my belief that these types of business strategies make green money a good investment. These good investment practices create sustainable financial markets. The industrial revolution may have turned us all into consumers, but we can become conscientious consumers. Why not, then, go ahead and make the effort to become producers, providers and investors in a green economy?

People do what they do because they believe what they believe.  Faith is the driving force of every culture. It is my belief that the Creator of the universe had you and me in mind when He began to think about His plans for the earth and for life on the earth.  Since He is and always has been perfect in wisdom, knowledge and understanding, His plans and purposes are established and will prevail even in the face of confusion and destruction.  It is obvious from what He has said that His plan is for there to be sustainable life on earth.

As I travel, I make it my daily goal to align myself with His plan and purpose for my life, even when I cannot see where He is leading me.  I want my dream to be His dream. “Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)

This is my zmotion vision.