Sustainable investments: what is it and how do you do it?

Sustainable investments are everywhere. In the news, blogs and on social media. More and more private individuals and companies are investing in sustainability in order to work towards a better world. But what exactly is sustainable investing? And how can you do this yourself? In this article you will read what sustainable investing is, why you should do it and you will discover 4 ways to make your own sustainable investments.

What is sustainable investment?

Sustainable investments are made by weighing the impact of your investment on the environment, people and society heavily in your (investment) considerations. The outcome of your investment is not only assessed on the basis of financial results, such as possible returns, but also on the basis of sustainability factors, such as the level of CO2 emissions. Sustainable investment is broader than just investing money. You can also invest your time or knowledge.

You can choose to make an investment for your home that is good for the environment, such as purchasing solar panels. That is a monetary investment. But if you travel by public transport more often, for example, it is an investment in time. You can also choose to leave out products that are not sustainable, such as tobacco, because these companies and products have a negative impact on people and the environment.

Why invest sustainably?

Sustainable investments are made to contribute to a better world, while you yourself benefit from it. In addition, sustainable investment is becoming increasingly important for governments and companies, which means it will be rewarded more and more over time. Like the subsidy you receive for purchasing and installing a heat pump.

4 ways to invest sustainably

There are several ways to invest sustainably. Below, we have elaborated on 4 ways.

Way 1: Sustainable savings

If you save in a sustainable way, the bank lends your savings mainly to sustainable projects and companies. In addition to the social benefits, the government offers tax advantages for sustainable savings. For example, with sustainable savings, you often do not pay any capital gains tax and there are extra exemptions available. Not only good for the environment, but also good for your wallet.

Method 2: crowdfunding

With crowdfunding, you invest directly in a project, often together with others. You can choose the project yourself, so you can easily go for sustainability. For example, take a look at this sustainable crowdfunding project by Zevi, who wants to plant an urban forest with an investment. There are several crowdfunding platforms where you can find sustainable projects, such as KickStarter, Indiegogo and GoFundMe.

Way 3: Sustainable investment in the home

It is also becoming increasingly interesting to invest in your home sustainably. If savings yields too little and you find sustainable investment exciting, this is a nice green middle way to put your money to work. You can make your home more sustainable in different ways:

• Insulate walls and roof
• Installing solar panels
• Installing a heat pump
• Installing double glazing
• Installing a solar boiler

Apart from the fact that your house will often increase in value as a result of these investments, you can also reduce your energy and water consumption or design it more efficiently, thereby saving on your monthly bills.

Method 4: sustainable investment

You can do sustainable investing by buying shares of sustainable companies or by investing in sustainable ETFs or funds. Sustainable investing is a good way to put your money to work and potentially achieve returns.

In addition, these financial products have the obligation to demonstrate their sustainability. In recent years, much legislation has been added or tightened (see SFDR). This makes it easy to determine to what extent a financial product is sustainable.

In simple terms, the SFDR distinguishes between light-green investments that take sustainability aspects into account (Article 8 of the SFDR) and dark-green investments that have sustainability as an objective in itself (Article 9 of the SFDR). Investments that do not comply with these are grey investments. VIVE does not invest in grey investments, but invests in light green investments.

Simple sustainable investing?

Do you want to make your money work for you in a sustainable way, without it costing a lot of effort, time or money? Then try Vive. We will create a free customised sustainable investment plan and implement it for you.

Watch out! Investing entails risks.