Socially responsible investment to rescue the future
3 min read
You have already been reading about socially responsible investing. Traders-paradise, also, wrote about it, you can find it if you join our Investing course.
Socially responsible investing, you can find under the names: social investment, also as sustainable, socially conscious, “green” or ethical investing.
It is an investment strategy which tries to view both financial return and social or environmental good. That means to produce a positive change in both fields.
Socially responsible investors have different aims for their investments. But one thing is crucial, they always examine moral, human, environmental and governance standards as well as a financial return.
They are focused on companies which manage a business that have a socially positive impact.
They may venture investments, that will provide important social or environmental goods. To this corpus goes community development loan funds or portfolios with cleantech.
We found some interesting story in Jerusalem Post. It is all about socially responsible investing.
Despite growing attempts to recycle rejected household goods, the final place where it ends is a non-regulated garbage dump. That may cause vast ecological problems. The methane and other very dangerous gases are delivered to the atmosphere. Yes, everyone is considered about it but there are not many companies that really take care of it.
One of them is Israeli UBQ.
It is based in Kibbutz Tze’elim and founded last year. This company found the solution on how to convert the household garbage into “the thermoplastic material that can be used for commercial and industrial products instead of petroleum-based plastics.”, published in the Jerusalem Post. This fresh company already earned notable attention almost all over the world.
“We have created a new natural resource from the household waste that ends up in landfills, avoiding its decomposition into harmful gases, while replacing scarce and expensive plastic materials made from oil,” UBQ co-founder and chief executive Jack (Tato) Bigio told The Jerusalem Post. “That’s a blessing to the industry. Many companies in the last 10 to 20 years have emerged with solutions that turn out to flop in one way or another. Never again,” he added.
What UBQ Materials exactly is doing?
“What UBQ is doing is taking all these valuable materials that are thrown away and bringing them back to life in an up-cycling way,” said Bigio. “We’re replacing a very expensive and scarce resource, and all of a sudden coming much closer to a truly circular economy. The value proposition is incredible.”
And here is the proportion: creating one ton of UBQ is equal to the melting of 35 sqm. of Arctic iceberg, or the seizure of almost 550 trees over 10 years old. For every ton of UBQ Material used, up to 15tons of CO2eq is saved.
Can you imagine?
UBQ’s international advisory board
The company’s scientific advisory board consists of Nobel Prize winner Prof. Roger Kornberg, nano-tech specialist Prof. Oded Shoseyov, patent practitioner Dr. Ilan Cohen, sustainability pioneer John Elkington, and here is also a former EU commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard.
And how this innovative technology is connected to investment?
“One of the first rules of sustainability is being cash-flow positive,” said UBQ chief sustainability officer Christopher Sveen. “If you want to change markets, you need to have an economic incentive. People will be incentivized by environmental propositions, but financial competitive nature accelerates the adoption cycles. We’re less expensive than plastics that come from oil.”
The first investors in UBQ are Sabra Dipping Co. founder Yehuda Pearl and Ajover Group CEO Albert Douer. Douer already owns 16 plastic factories in eight countries.
Why sustainable investments is so important?
The importance of sustainable investments is growing. The proponents of a sustainable investment strategy claim that they generate outperformance.
One thing is sure, the returns generated by socially responsible investing are bigger.
Socially responsible companies treat their employees in a good manner, produce healthy products.
In this type of business, investing is not just about getting a profit. It’s about raising of responsibility and sustainability.
Traders-Paradise found on their website: “UBQ envisions a world where finite resources are infinitely reused. In this way, we aim to help rescue the planet.”
The bottom line
Socially responsible investing enables you to invest your money in the right place.
Invest in companies that are not going to destroy the environment. By investing in socially responsible businesses you’re keeping your plate clean and safe. Your food, your lives, your children’s lives depend on that.
Moreover, you will earn more. Recently, some academic research revealed a strong connection between ESG and financial performance. Just because a company is building a more positive impact, that does not mean they are producing a less return. Research has suggested that socially responsible focused companies are more sustainable in the long-term.
The statistic shows that 89% of investors in socially responsible companies claim these are meeting their return expectations.
If you want to become a socially responsible investor, you should do that with a robo advisor. There are other ways, of course, but this is the easiest one.
Some of the most popular robo advisors have socially responsible investing tracks, focused on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). With as little as $50 investment you can start with a robo advisor focused completely on SRI.
