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

You hear about sustainable investing everywhere. In the news, blogs and on social media. More and more 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 it yourself? In this article you can read what sustainable investing is, why you should do it and discover 4 ways to invest sustainably yourself.

What is sustainable investing?

Sustainable investing means that you heavily consider the impact of your investment on the environment, people and society in your (investment) consideration. You assess the outcome of your investment not only on financial results, such as potential returns, but also on the basis of sustainability factors such as the level of CO2 emissions. Sustainable investing is broader than just investing money. You can also invest your time or knowledge.

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

Why sustainable investing?

Sustainable investing is done to contribute to a better world, while also benefiting yourself. In addition, sustainable investing is becoming increasingly important for governments and companies, which means that it will be rewarded more and more over time. Such as the subsidy you receive for purchasing and installing a heat pump.

4 ways to invest sustainably

There are several ways to invest sustainably. We have elaborated on 4 ways for you below.

Method 1: sustainable saving

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

Method 2: crowdfunding

With crowdfunding, you often invest directly in a project 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 from 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.

Method 3: sustainable investment in a home

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

• Insulating walls and roof
• Install solar panels
• Installing a heat pump
• Install double glazing
• Install a solar water heater

In addition to the fact that your home often increases in value due to these investments, you can reduce energy and water consumption or organize it more efficiently and thus save on your monthly expenses.

Method 4: sustainable investing

You can invest sustainably by buying shares in 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, a lot of legislation has been added or tightened (see SFDR). As a result, it is easy to determine the extent to which a financial product is sustainable.

Simply put, 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 a goal in itself (Article 9 of the SFDR). Investments that do not meet these requirements are grey investments. VIVE does not invest in grey investments, but does invest in light green investments.

Easy sustainable investing?

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

Please note! Investing involves risks.