Gillian Sandhoff
THE IDEA OF INVESTING IN COMPANIES THAT ARE SOCIALLY
RESPONSIBLE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR SOME TIME.
The question is, do you sacrifice personal gain for your personal beliefs
in what will benefit society, the planet and animals?
I do know of people who have sacrificed personal gain for the
satisfaction of not investing in industries that are seen to be
environmentally damaging such as mining companies or tanneries.
Often these investments have low returns and high fees but why, surely
industries such as solar energy or re-cycling make profits? The other
question is are they really socially responsible?
My daughter recently sent me details of a socially responsible investment
she was looking at investing in and I noticed that companies included
in the investment contained mining and other industries I wouldn’t have
expected.
I queried this and she said they included companies that were ethical,
but many companies claim to be ethical or socially responsible by
highlighting the work they do in the community, such as the provision of
grants to community groups and charities. This does not mean that their
core business is in the best interest of society, the planet and animals.
Even those industries that appear to be socially responsible, such as
solar energy or LED lights, how do you know whether somewhere in
their supply chain child labour hasn’t been used or that the energy used
in the manufacturing process comes from fossil fuel?
It can be a minefield and Scott Pape, author of “The Barefoot Investor”,
thinks that you are better off getting the best return for your money and
then directly donating the profits to the causes you believe in.
