LFF encourages members to consider the impact of their investments both in their choice of bank, superannuation fund and investment fund. A range of ethical investment options currently exist which enable investors to use their money to further environmentally friendly practices.
To find out more about the environmental credentials of banks and superannuation funds, check out Market Forces. They have a function on their website for comparing the ethical investments of Banks and Super providers.
Three key actions for ethical investment:
1. Be proactive about your bank and superannuation fund
Investigate the portfolio of companies that your bank and superannuation fund moneys are invested in. If you are not happy with what you discover, consider changing to an ethical bank or super fund. Be sure to let your old bank or fund know why you are changing funds.
Examples of ethical banks include: Bank Australia and Bendigo Bank.
Examples of ethical super funds include: Future Super, Australian Ethical Super, and Verve Super.
2. Invest in an ethical investment trust
Ethical investment, or SRI (socially responsible investment), has become a growing element of the already large managed funds market in Australia and overseas. There are now a number of funds managers in Australia which pool together investors’ money and invest it only in companies which are environmentally or ethically sound. They follow a charter for deciding where to invest, and will only invest in companies that meet this charter. Some actively seek out companies that develop sustainable land use and food production, preservation of endangered eco-systems and other ethical objectives, and others seek to avoid companies that pollute land, air or waters or produce products or services that harm the environment or humans, or have other negative features.
3. Invest directly in environmentally sound companies
You can apply similar ethical criteria to your own investments and choose organisations which you have researched and invest in them without going through a trust.