Anyone into "green" investing?

[foidulus]

With the recent launch of the Spectra Green fund(part of Bill Clinton's global initiative) I am interested to see if anyone here has tried any "green" investing? The goal of this fund it seems is to invest in socially responsible companies as well as companies that are researching alternative fuels etc. The minimum is only $500 for IRAs and whatnot, but the expense ratio is 1.25%, a bit too high for my tastes.

Anyway, has anyone here ever done any (environmentally/socially) conscious investing? How did it work out? Any suggestions on funds/stocks?

 

[bob909bob]

I acutually was considering starting to invest in companies researching alternate/green fuel sources. Morally it seems like the right thing to do and I think it is also a smart investment from a financial point of view as well, assuming you do your homework and don't rush in blindly.

 

[Abstract]

I've never heard of this, but it seems very cool.

 

[bob909bob]

Oh and also every time you buy a mac you support a green company. Macs are white to reflect sunlight . True story.

 

[miniConvert]

Mhm, ethical, but not green.

 

[jelloshotsrule]

there are definitely a growing number of investment companies that do socially responsible portfolios and such

i don't have any real "investments" so i've not looked into them too extensively, but i've seen a few exhibits by various companies at the last couple green festivals in washington dc..

check out the listing from the chicago green fest page

http://www.greenfestivals.org/component/option,com_mtree/task,listcats/cat_id,50/Itemid,258/

 

[Poseidon]

Terrapass

Not exactly an investment in the standard sense of the word, but I'm a member of Terrapass (terrapass.com).

The idea behind this company is that your lifestyle contributes to global warming and consumes energy in a number of ways, usually through use of a car or home. To help offset this you can purchase a "pass" that offsets your energy consumption and C02 contributions;Terrapass uses your contribution to invest in clean and renewable energy sources and to purchase energy credits.

The site itself does a much better job explaining it then me, so I'd encourage folks to check it out. I've purchases Terrapass's for both my home and car and it helps me feel a bit better about being a lazy, energy-sucking American.

[For those interested in joining I do have some 10% of coupons I'm happy to share.]

 

[Mammoth]

Oh and also every time you buy a mac you support a green company. Macs are white to reflect sunlight . True story.

Macs are white and glossy. Both white and glossy reflect heat. Dells are black and matte. Both absorb heat.

 

[72930]

Macs are white and glossy. Both white and glossy reflect heat. Dells are black and matte. Both absorb heat.

Blackbook?!

 

[bob909bob]

Blackbook?!

Apple made the black macbooks to test us morall and see if we were strong enough to put the enviroment fist. All mac users who bougt blackbooks failed Steve.

 

[bobscliff]

I myself was looking into ethanol and other alternative energy companies. Unfortunately many of them aren't showing a lot of short term profit (predictable considering the support our govt. gives them here in the states). If they're going to succeed they're going to need govt. subsidies. If anyone has any success stories though please share.

 

[spikespike]

Mhm, ethical, but not green.

Agreed. Theres a big difference between the two. One involves divesting from Sudan, the other involves investing in solar panels.