One of the most powerful things that we can do as individuals to fight climate change is to invest our money in the right places, especially when it comes to our savings and pensions.
I have been slowly working (and procrastinating) on this for quite a long time now, but this week I finally managed to make some more progress by simply transferring my old (never winning) Premium Bonds into the new NS&I Green Savings Bonds. Not only have they just increased the interest rate to a competitive 1.3% but it will crucially be used by the Government to fund green projects such as transport, renewable energy etc. The application literally took me 5 minutes online and I really like the fact that it will directly show the Government that this is something that I care enough about to invest in.
Last year when I started looking into this, I also set up a savings account with the Triodos Bank as is it rated one of the world’s most sustainable banks. I have not got much money in the account but I would much rather any spare pennies that I do have are sitting somewhere that has a positive impact rather than it languishing in my very badly rated high street bank. (I also made sure that I emailed my bank to tell them why I no longer wanted to give them the benefit of my savings.)
Due to a number of reasons I am unfortunately not yet able to move my current account (although apparently it is very easy to do) however when I am able to I will probably be looking to use Triodos, Starling or the Co-Op as they are apparently good options.
However, the most impactful investment that I can use to make a statement is my pension and so I am currently in discussions with my pension provider to find out which ethical funds I am able to transfer my money into. I started this conversation with them just over a year ago but unfortunately as it is quite difficult to work out the best options it has kept dropping from the top of my to-do list. Having recently found the Make My Money Matter website though I am now determined to finally take some decisive action!
The good news though is that even if you aren’t able, or ready to move your pension you can still take some action by simply sending an email to your pension provider (the Make My Money Matter website has a prewritten email that you can simply send with a couple of clicks). Plus, there is also a petition that you can sign to ask for greener pensions.
Governments and business will always follow the money and so I am making a conscious effort to divest mine from those companies that are set on destroying our world, and I will be seeking out those that are positively investing in our planet’s future.
It is time to put my money where my mouth is.