Is it Possible to Make Money and Make the World a Better Place?

Can you be financially healthy in a time when the world’s markets show a critically unstable temperature? Is it possible to make money and make the world a better place? If you consider socially responsible investing—or SRI—the answer might just be yes. “Every dollar you spend or invest is important,” says Gregory Wendt, director of sustainable investing for Enright Premier Wealth Advisors in Los Angeles and founder of Green Business Networking. “Socially responsible investing is about using your social, environmental, ethical and spiritual values to inform your financial choices.” Basically, according to SRI, we have to stop thinking of each financial transaction as an individual act, and start thinking about how that act is part of a web of activity. To put it in extremely well-duh EcoStiletto terms: If you’re going to buy a pair of shoes, for example, you can’t just appraise your purchase based on how much they cost and how much you like them. You have to think about where and how they were made (preferably fair trade), from what materials they were fabricated (preferably sustainable), how much you will use them (hopefully, forever) and what their end use will be (recycled, i.e. “vintage,” or even composted, if they’re cloth or leather and you’ve seriously worn them into the ground). You have to analyze if you want your purchase to support their manufacturer, and the shoe industry as a whole. The same goes for big-picture financial decisions, Wendt says. Through SRI, we can create a healthier economy at the same time that we grow our investments over time and create a better world. According to Wendt, there are three key components to Socially Responsible Investing: Screening means selecting or avoiding investments based on various environmental and social criteria. Issues to consider include corporate environmental practices, discrimination, product safety, animal welfare, weapons manufacturing, alcohol, tobacco, gambling and nuclear power. Shareholder Activism is the belief that through the shareholder process, your investments can convey your values and concerns to top management, thus changing the way that major corporations impact their employees, our communities and the natural environment. Finally, Community Development Investment is the practice of supporting and promoting sustainable development in economically disadvantaged local communities though lending and equity investment programs.rnBut what about performance? Can you really profit through supporting your ideals? Wendt says—emphatically—yes, and points to studies showing that not only does SRI have no negative impact on performance, it can actually increase returns. Case in Point? Just check the government’s Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Energy. Click on your state, and you can see which cities are offering incentives for homeowners to go green—stimulating eco-conscious businesses like solar power providers and more efficient water heater manufacturers and benefiting from government assistant in the process. Or Wells Fargo, which ranks second in Green America’s Responsible Shopper’s Guide to the Banking and Financial industries, based on factors like human rights, ethics and governance, environment and its impact on “green Washington,” among other factors, and took $20 billion less in government money than Bank of America, which scored next-to-last in the ranking. Okay, they took a bailout, but they’re still doing the right thing with it, like rescuing first-ranking Wachovia. Apparently, you can make money when you put it where your mouth is. Want a smaller carbon footprint? EcoStiletto.com is giving away a free pair of eco-friendly shoes worth $500 or more every month! Get the lowdown on shrinking your carbon footprint from an Ugg boot to a Manolo with daily green fashion, beauty, lifestyle, parenting, celebrity and eco-events nationwide and change the world, one small step at a time. Stiletto-size me!