As global warming continues to impact our daily lives, more and more people are attempting to transition to machines and resources that promote energy efficiency. Is improving energy efficiency an effective way to reduce emissions and rising global temperatures?

All You Need to Know About Energy Efficiency

The extensive heat waves of this past summer and new climate bills  that have been approved depict how climate change is more of a threat  than ever before, resulting in more and more people attempting to alter  their daily habits to coincide with sustainability – such as energy efficiency. 

Does investing in energy efficient machinery help to reduce emissions, and ultimately aid in the fight against climate change? 

In this article, we'll explain what energy efficiency is, why it is important, the benefits of energy efficiency, and how your company can get started to improve energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency means to accomplish the same initial task  with less energy than used before. In other words, energy efficiency is  all about making do with less. 

Think of energy efficiency like making soup for four. Maybe you only have half a container of vegetable broth left, but still need to make the soup for four. What do you do? You can dilute the bottle of broth so that you still have enough  liquid to make the soup. In the end, you still made the soup for four people without needing to use as much broth. Energy efficiency strives to do the same thing.

Efficiency means getting more for less. If we are efficient with energy, we can enjoy the same levels of comfort or more, while using less!

What is energy efficiency?

Energy efficiency measures strives to do the same thing, but instead of saving soup – you're reducing energy consumption all while looking to save energy, save money.

Some examples of energy efficiency projects include:

Energy Efficient Buildings – Improved home energy efficiency with renewable heating systems with a low carbon heating system, smart meter, renewable electricity to make your home more energy efficient.

Clean Energy Economy & Renewable Energy – Installing solar panels, energy efficient light bulbs, or gas boilers in place of an air source heat pump.

Improving Energy Efficiency via Government Support – Local council or government efforts to instill cost savings and reduce heating bills across the country, such as with the Energy Company Obligation in the United Kingdom which works to provides financial support to households to promote energy savings, more energy efficient homes, and ultimately reduce fuel bills.

💡 Energy efficiency projects will often seek to use renewable energy sources, reduce energy costs or energy bills, and improve all energy management systems whilst working towards net zero.

The demand for energy is increasing around the world. Energy prices are rising exponentially, and the demand for energy is beginning to outweigh the available supply – which is eliciting businesses and households alike to take new efforts in saving energy, improve their energy performance, and reducing their greenhouse gases. 

💡 This increase in energy demand is unsustainable and not good for emissions or the environment, as many companies will ignore the opportunity for renewable energy sources and seek to use fossil fuels instead – which create greenhouse gasses that pollute the planet. 

Energy efficiency is important as it helps to reduce the amount of energy used, make the demand equivalent to the supply, and reduce the cost of energy and ultimately mitigate the excessive use of oils or fossil fuels that create greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions.

👉 Ultimately, energy saving  and energy efficiency can help to benefit low income households, social housing, adding insulation to homes and help the Energy Saving Trust UK government program or the State Energy Program in the U.S. to meet their energy reduction goals and reduce overall emissions.

What are the benefits of energy efficiency?

There are a multitude of benefits to choosing energy efficient household appliances, energy efficient products, or anything that promotes energy efficiency and helps a clean energy future – such as by working to help existing buildings be more energy efficient, cut back on air pollution, and work towards net zero emissions. 

The immediate benefits of implementing energy efficiency are reducing your electricity consumption and saving money by lowering electricity bills, but there are more reasons to commit to energy efficiency. 

The primary incentive is the reduced monthly electricity bill that many with energy efficient appliances receive.

💡 The Energy Star label has made its name known and well deserved, as it has helped households and businesses to combat climate change, improve efficiency, and take a direct part in technological innovation to improve energy security and efficiency.

Energy Star is a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA – that aims to encourage energy efficiency. Appliances marked with the Energy Star label have reduced fossil fuels in the United States to the extent of taking twenty five million cars off the road. Unfortunately, as emissions are expected to continue to increase – Energy Star or energy efficient appliances will become more and more viable to reduce global emissions. 

The U.S. Department of Energy says that energy efficient appliances marked by Energy Star can cut both energy usage and your electricity bill anywhere between ten and fifty percent, depending on the size of your home. Eligible customers may even want to consider a home upgrade grant.

Additional benefits of seeking to use energy efficiency measures include:

Protect Human Health – When industrial facilities work to make their companies more fuel efficient and switch to the use of renewable energy, it can help to mitigate poor air quality and safeguard our health.

Address Energy Equity – Energy bills are continuing to skyrocket, but addressing energy efficiency can help businesses and families alike to cut back on the stress elicited as a result of paying for a pricey energy bill each month.

More Environmentally Friendly – Energy efficient appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and the overall dependency on fossil fuels and oils.  

Boost Material Efficiency – Energy efficient appliances can help you get more done while using less energy. For instance, select Energy Star washer or dryer machines can help you wash more clothes in one load, or dry a load of clothes in a shorter amount of time. Basically, energy efficiency doesn't just help you to make do with less energy – but can even help you get more done with less energy. 

👉 All of these actions are beneficial to fight against climate change. In other words, installing an energy efficient appliance means you'll be doing your part to reduce emissions in the long run with next to no effort. 

What is the difference between conservation and energy efficiency?

Energy efficiency and energy conservation may seem like they’re the same thing, but they’re slightly different. 

Energy conservation is a method to reduce energy consumption by making do with less energy to accomplish the same task. An example of energy efficiency is an energy efficient washer-dryer, as the machine would clean the same amount of clothes as an older washer-dryer – but use less energy and water in the process.

💡 Energy conservation is attempting to prevent the use of energy, such as turning off lights when you leave the room or unplugging a phone charger when the battery is already full. 

Can energy efficiency help to reduce climate change? 

If an energy efficient appliance is functional and doesn’t ironically utilise unsustainable resources elsewhere, then energy efficiency can help to reduce climate change. Energy efficiency can be key to mitigate climate change, and in many cases – energy efficiency tactics have proven to be a cost effective manner to prevent further climate change while also reducing energy waste and lowering electricity bills. 

Climate change is happening as people and businesses around the world are creating excessive greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions. Electrical consumption contributes to the production of greenhouse gasses that pollute the atmosphere and raise global temperatures. Therefore, if we all strive to implement energy efficiency where we can – we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately, fight against climate change. 

We often use copious amounts of energy through the daily use of our household appliances without realizing it. It’s easy to unplug a charger or a lamp when not in use, but household appliances are often forgotten when trying to reduce electrical consumption – even though they are often the culprits of the most electricity use. 

What are the most common household appliances that use extensive amounts of energy, and are being remodeled for energy efficiency? 


Washing machines require copious amounts of not only water, but energy to do laundry – especially if they run on old technology. If you opt to buy an energy efficient washer-dryer, you could reduce your water consumption by nearly a third, and also cut your energy use by a quarter. If you can’t afford a new washing machine that promotes energy efficiency, try and only do one full load of laundry instead of several, small loads of laundry. Ultimately, no matter how many dirty clothes you pile into the machine – it takes the same amount of water and energy to clean them, so you might as well make the most of every load.

What’s an appliance that’s always running, 24/7 – no matter what?

Refrigerators are the only household appliance that are constantly in use, and therefore – could be subject to an extensive use of energy. If there’s one energy efficient appliance that you can afford, a refrigerator may be the best one to choose. Refrigerators exasperate copious amounts of energy due to their need for around-the-clock cooling and lighting, making them one of the most popular energy efficient appliances to purchase. 

Dishwashers don’t need to be replaced as often as washing machines or refrigerators, but their durability doesn’t mean that they are energy efficient. Since most dishwashers last for several years, it means that many of the dishwashers, perhaps even the one installed in your current home – uses several gallons per load. One solution to this problem is to buy an energy efficient dishwasher, but also – you can do your dishes by hand, but strategically. Don’t run the water while rinsing the dishes, but instead – fill the sink with water and wash the dishes with the water that’s already available. 

It may seem paradoxical, but air conditioners, despite cooling off your home – also use extensive amounts of energy. Especially in the summer as heat waves continue to get worse, air conditioning is becoming more and more essential and in turn – getting more expensive while also emitting more energy. If you’re going to pay to have air conditioning in your home, you may as well upgrade to an energy efficient air conditioning system. 

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    <h2>Energy Efficient Appliances Comparison</h2>
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            <th>Appliance</th>
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            <td>Washing & Drying Machines</td>
            <td>
                <ul>
                    <li>Washing machines use a lot of water and energy, especially older models.</li>
                    <li>Energy-efficient washers can reduce water consumption by nearly a third and energy use by a quarter.</li>
                    <li>Tips: Do full loads of laundry to maximise efficiency.</li>
                </ul>
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            <td>Refrigerators</td>
            <td>
                <ul>
                    <li>Refrigerators run 24/7, making them significant energy consumers.</li>
                    <li>Energy-efficient refrigerators reduce energy consumption due to better cooling and lighting technologies.</li>
                    <li>Often considered the most beneficial energy-efficient appliance to upgrade.</li>
                </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td>Dishwashers</td>
            <td>
                <ul>
                    <li>Dishwashers are durable but often use several gallons of water per load.</li>
                    <li>Energy-efficient dishwashers save water and energy.</li>
                    <li>Tip: Hand wash dishes without running water continuously to save resources.</li>
                </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
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            <td>Air Conditioners</td>
            <td>
                <ul>
                    <li>AC units use a lot of energy, especially during summer heat waves.</li>
                    <li>Energy-efficient air conditioners reduce energy consumption and costs.</li>
                    <li>Upgrading to an energy-efficient AC system is beneficial for both comfort and sustainability.</li>
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Why aren’t all household appliances made to be energy efficient if global warming is getting worse? 

It may seem simple to many: make all household appliances energy efficient from here on out, and the world will subconsciously, drastically reduce their energy consumption. 

However, it isn’t that simple. Energy efficient appliances are inevitably more expensive, and not everyone can afford to install one in the same way not everyone can afford to buy an electric car over a gasoline powered vehicle. 

👉 Eventually, all household appliances, electric vehicles, and commercial buildings should be made to be energy efficient. Unfortunately, installing energy efficient appliances is still subject to the individual homeowner – and it may be a while until energy efficient appliances become compulsory. However, it doesn't mean that you can't reduce your energy consumption in the meantime. 

You don't have to shell out the big bucks on an electric car or a new washer-dryer to promote energy efficiency. More often than not, electricity can be preserved in simple ways just by paying closer attention to your daily actions. 

💡 Energy efficiency is all about how you can use less energy to accomplish a task; reducing your electricity bill is just another plus in the process. 

Striving to turn off lights when you leave the room, or shut down electronic devices when they aren't in use is huge. Think about it this way, you're paying for the electricity in your home to be able to have lights on when the sun goes down, and to use your laptop. Do the lights need to be on in broad daylight, or when you leave the house? Does your iPhone charger need to remain plugged in when your phone battery is already full?

Little things like this can help to reduce your electrical consumption whilst still allowing the electricity you pay for to accomplish what you want it to do: power your devices and provide lighting in your home.

It’s important to think of anything that requires power. Things like air conditioning, heating, dishwashers, and washing machines take up a lot of energy too. You don’t necessarily need to buy a new, energy efficient appliance – but just use them wisely to optimise the amount of energy they use when you do use them. For instance, only do a full load of laundry once a week rather than several loads every couple of days – as both will use the same amount of water. 

These changes may seem trite, but energy efficiency doesn’t have to break the bank. Ultimately, to be energy efficient just means to be more mindful of how much energy you consume, and with a little practice – it’s something we all can do. 

If reading this article on energy efficiency has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!

At Greenly we can help you to assess your company’s carbon footprint, and then give you the tools you need to cut down on emissions. We offer a free demo for you to better understand our platform and all that it has to offer – including assistance with boosting supplier engagement, personalised assistance, and new ways to involve your employees.

Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.

What are socially responsible investments, and why have they grown in popularity during the global cause for concern regarding climate change? Can socially responsible investments encourage companies to go green?

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI): All you Need to Know

In an era where global warming is impacting every region, company, and person on the planet – it’s inevitable that climate change  would impact finances, as well.

Socially Responsible Investing, otherwise known as SRI – is an innovative, careful method of investing that is attracting individuals, businesses, and global leaders  alike for its sustainable social and environmental values.

But why should an individual investor or company choose socially responsible investing over other types of investments?

👉 In this article, we'll explain what socially responsible investing (SRI) is, why socially responsible investors will benefit from SRI, and if a socially responsible investment strategy is right for your business. 

What is Socially Responsible Investing? 

Socially responsible investing, otherwise known as SRI – is a  type of social investment that pertains to social responsibility as the  companies or individuals that choose socially responsible investing usually have other goals besides finances in mind.

The acronym for socially responsible investing, SRI – stands for,  “sustainable, responsible and impact” investing, which illustrates the core values that socially responsible investing strives to encourage  investors to accomplish. 

The main goal for those who choose to commit to socially responsible investments is to be socially cognisant of your investments and how they can impact society, rather than prioritizing yourself or the company’s future financial return.

In this video, we discussed what is socially responsible investing or SRI, why it matters to make big impact on the world and how to become a sustainable or socially responsible investor. 

Basically, Socially Responsible Investing or SRI is choosing to invest in stocks that provide a financial gain as well as do social good. The companies are evaluated based on the ESG index: environment, social justice, and corporate governance.

Although socially-responsible investing is still up and coming in India, it is expected to gain greater momentum in the next few years. Companies have become more aware of the ESG factors and are looking to incorporate more of it into their business practices.

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What is Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)? [Making World A Better Place!]

Socially responsible investments are done by individuals or companies that seek social justice and equality in their investments. SRI strives to implement the principles of positive social effects on society in one’s investment patterns, and it has been growing in popularity ever since climate change has grown as a global cause for concern. 

👉 While SRI’s are aimed to help society, investors should remain aware that socially responsible investments are ultimately, still a financial  activity – and should remember to weigh the pros and cons of the potential investment for their future financial returns.

How does Socially Responsible Investing work?

Socially responsible investments work by weeding out the companies that manufacture, market, or condone selling harmful substances or activities such as alcohol, gambling, and smoking cigarettes. Through this sifting process, companies interested in making an investment portfolio can determine which businesses, projects, and organizations are committed to social equality and sustaining the environment. 

For example, a company that seeks to use renewable energy sources can be deemed as a worthy socially responsible investment – but a company that harvests fossil fuels and oil, which produce greenhouse gasses that pollute the atmosphere, may not be deemed as a sustainable and responsible investment.

Though Responsible Investing seems to be a hot topic these days, making sense out of the many options out there may seem like a daunting task. The terminology alone can be rather confusing, with terms such as sustainability, responsible investing and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) often being used interchangeably. Terminology aside, ultimately what is most important is what matters to you.

Nicolas de Skowronski, Julius Baer’s Co-Head Investment & Wealth Management Services says "Responsible investment is not an investment solution but an approach to generating financial returns in a way that’s in line with clients’ core environmental or social values. As individuals increasingly state that their individual values are becoming just as important as financial returns, we believe that it is of paramount importance to add an ESG dimension to the investment process.

Investors have different levels of responsible investment to choose from. Sustainable investing, the first level, involves selecting companies with leading ESG qualities that also promise to generate attractive investment returns. Impact investing, the second form, goes further by generating a measurable positive environmental and/or social impact. Finally, in some cases companies are required to work towards a specific ESG goal."

Though responsible investing seems to be a hot topic these days, making sense out of the many options out there may seem like a daunting task. The terminology alone can be rather confusing, with terms such as sustainability, responsible investing and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) often being used interchangeably. Terminology aside, ultimately what is most important is what matters to you.

Therefore, before you begin, it is helpful to sit with your relationship manager and determine where your personal convictions lie in relation to your investment objectives, and which of these should be given more weight in your decision-making process.

Is your primary financial objective to:

Invest line in with your values? 
Perhaps you are concerned with protecting marine life and would like to support projects that remove plastics from the ocean. Or maybe you would like to ensure that girls have equal access to opportunities as boys. Investing in line with your values can be done either through impact investing – where you ensure a positive societal impact while also making a financial return – or by excluding companies involved in controversial activities. 

Reduce Risks?
Certain non-financial risks, such as a textile company’s insufficient management of labour rights issues in its supply chain, can hurt financial performance in the long run. Investment strategies that identify such Environmental, Social, and Governance factors can help investors avoid these risks.

Seize opportunities?
Companies that are actively tackling global challenges such as climate change by developing renewable energy technology, for instance, are well-positioned deliver long-term economic benefits to investors.

No matter what your priorities and personal convictions are, we can help you find the approach that best suits your needs. Because how we invest today is how we live tomorrow.

Read the full story here: https://www.juliusbaer.com/insights/en/how-to-invest/making-sense-of-responsible-investing/

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What Is Socially Responsible Investing

As socially responsible investing has been growing in popularity, threatening the existence of traditional investments, there are many new funding opportunities available for retail investors. For instance, mutual funds and exchange traded funds, otherwise known as ETFs – allow investors to have exposure to multiple companies at once with a single investment. Therefore, this allows the investor to be a stakeholder in multiple projects or companies at once whilst also helping multiple social causes. 

💡 Socially responsible investments are usually made through socially responsible mutual funds or exchange traded funds managed by fund managers. 

What are the two main goals of socially responsible investing?

The two main goals of socially responsible investing are to have a positive social impact and to create a lucrative financial return. However, it isn’t compulsory that a socially responsible investment provides the investor with a good financial return – as the financial aspect is not the primary mission of socially responsible investing in the first place. It is ultimately the investor’s decision to partake in the socially responsible investment, realizing that it may slightly deter their financial success in exchange for benefiting the environment or society. 

There are many ways to commit to socially responsible investing. For example, community investing is a method of investing where the community’s potential societal impact is prioritised over the fiscal monetary return on the investors end. 

💡 In short, any type of investment that seeks to place social importance over potentially, financially lucrative goals – can be considered a socially responsible investment. 

What are the pros and cons of Socially Responsible Investing? 

There are numerous pros and cons to socially responsible funds and ethical investing, with the pros being that an investor can feel good knowing that their investment decisions are helping socially responsible companies or projects that are clearly committed to achieving their environmental and socially sustainable goals. However, SRI funds also require time and processing such as negative screening, positive screening, and other changes to a company's current investment strategies.

💡 Sustainable funds and the SRI investment process can benefit society and the environment, and strive to mitigate any further social and environmental harm all while improving financial performance. However, regardless of these benefits for socially concerned investors, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t downsides or difficulties to socially responsible investing. 

Align Your Business Practices with Ethical Values – Encouraging investment managers to look into ethical investments as opposed to traditional investing can help to ensure that your company's environmental mission statement is aligned with your investing strategies.  

Values-Based Investing – Seeking the use of SRI investors and committing to other socially responsible activities can not only benefit your company's bank account, but help to demonstrate good business ethics.

Benefit Those in Your Investment Universe – A more sustainable investing strategy can make a significant difference in addressing environmental concerns, boosting, community involvement, ameliorating corporate governance practices, aiding developing countries to fund their own environmental sustainability projects, and create an overall positive impact.

Improved Financial Performance – An ethical investment isn't only good for the planet, but an SRI portfolio or SRI mutual funds could actually improve investment performance as a result of improved risk management.

Adhere to Stakeholder & Market Expectations – There is increasing demand for SRI from investors, especially amongst  younger generations – where 44% of respondents say they are ready to invest more than one third of their savings in their own SRI portfolio. In addition to this, those who seek to align their financial practices with those of a socially responsible investor may have an easier time complying with new environmental regulations.

Less Investment Choices – Traditional investments often allow for a wider variety of individual investors, private equity, pension funds, and more. Therefore, more sustainable and responsible practices such as positive investing may not be the best for those more concerned with fund performance over sustainable funds and investment decisions.

Concerns with Financial Performance – While socially responsible investing (SRI) is the better choice in terms of seeking ethical funds and prioritizing the environment and society, there are concerns that SRI funds may be more susceptible to volatile market fluctuations and not provide the same financial returns due to the fact SRIs don't support the use of typical high-performing investments such tobacco and fossil fuels.

Lack of Standardization – Since SRI funds and their potential financial returns are relatively new, not enough research or consistency has been established to create a universal standard for what can be considered a "socially responsible" mutual funds or investments.

Higher Start-up Costs – An SRI fund often requires greater investment analysis in comparison to traditional funds, meaning that businesses may need to seek an investment adviser or fund manager to ensure their chosen SRI is in line with ESG criteria and corporate governance.

💡 Remember, socially responsible investments work by pertaining to the current social and political climate at the time the investment is made. Therefore, it is crucial that investors understand the risk of socially responsible investments. Since SRIs prioritise social improvement over financial gain, the investor could prevent themselves from achieving their financial goals if the social value they invested in at the time loses potency in the present day. 

This can be considered a con of socially responsible investing, as it is often necessary to recruit the help of a third party to properly delineate what can qualify as a socially responsible investment. Professionals seek to clarify this through a company’s environmental, social, and governance factors – otherwise known their ESG data. 

An ESG score is one of the surefire ways that an investor can confirm if a company or project is serious about sustainability and improving society. Unlike impact investments, this is an extra step that requires extra time and effort that other investments do not – which could turn investors off to the idea of socially responsible investing since alternatives like impact investing are not as difficult to do alone.

👉 Ultimately, an investor must be dedicated to the non-financial aspects of socially responsible investments and socially conscious investing.

Here is a table further depicting the pros and cons to sustainable investing:

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    <h2>Pros and Cons of Socially Responsible Investing</h2>
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            <th>Pros</th>
            <th>Cons</th>
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            <td>
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                    <li>Ethical Alignment: Aligns investments with personal values and ethics.</li>
                    <li>Positive Impact: Contributes to social and environmental change.</li>
                    <li>Risk Management: Potentially lower risks from regulatory fines and scandals.</li>
                    <li>Long-Term Gains: Better performance over the long term.</li>
                    <li>Growing Trend: Increasing demand, especially among younger investors.</li>
                    <li>Regulatory Adaptation: Better positioned for compliance and adaptation.</li>
                </ul>
            </td>
            <td>
                <ul>
                    <li>Limited Choices: Reduced pool of investment opportunities.</li>
                    <li>Performance Concerns: Potential for underperformance.</li>
                    <li>Market Volatility: Susceptibility to market fluctuations.</li>
                    <li>Subjectivity: Varying criteria for what is "socially responsible".</li>
                    <li>Lack of Standardization: Challenges in comparing SRI options.</li>
                    <li>Higher Fees: Increased management costs.</li>
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Do SRIs result in a lucrative financial return? 

Many investors could be wary of socially responsible investments, as they are known to prioritise social just over lucrative fiscal return. However, socially responsible investments do not automatically mean that the financial return won’t be as good as one from a typical investment would be.

💡 In fact, socially responsible investments can produce just as satisfactory financial returns as a standard investment can. According to Arabesque Partners in 2020, research showed that the majority of sustainable efforts, including socially responsible investments, can provoke lucrative financial performance as well. 

This can be due to the fact that as customers, employees, and investors around the world grow aware of the impacts of climate change – that more money is being invested into companies and projects that seek to aid in the fight against global warming and to protect the citizens of the world against inequality. 

Will SRI funds provide good financial in the future?

In short, the more popular sustainability grows as a whole, the more successful socially responsible investments could prove financially valuable. Since sustainability practices seek balance, socially responsible investments also have the tendency to be less volatile than traditional funds. Therefore, they may not make as much money as quickly – but they also won’t be subject to drastic changes the way that traditional funds can be. 

👉 As more companies strive for sustainability, it’s clear that socially responsible investments have the potential to not only do good for the world – but for your wallet, too. 

What is the difference between impact investing and socially responsible investing? 

Socially responsible investing refers to a method of investing where a company or individual chooses or doesn’t choose a potential investment opportunity according to the project’s motivation, or lack of incentive, to improve the stance of the environment. These can be confirmed through environmental accreditation such as an ESG score or a company obtaining an ISO 14001. 

The main goal of impact investing, on the other hand – is for a business or organization to benefit society and environmental causes while simultaneously creating a financial return to fiscally improve the company. 

Both impact investing and socially responsible investing aim to positively contribute to society and environmental causes, but the process for choosing a company or project to invest in that aligns with the values of socially responsible investing is stricter than the criteria for impact investing. 

For example, an investment can be considered an impact investment as long as it does some sort of beneficial act for society or the environment, even if the company the investor chooses to invest in isn’t completely sustainable or aims to reduce their carbon footprint 100% of the time. Socially responsible investments, on the other hand – often require that  the company the investors chooses to not purposefully engage in any activities or substances that could be harmful to the environment or society. 

💡 Both socially responsible investing and impact investing are selective and aim to create a particular portfolio that doesn’t strive solely for economic growth, but with the mindset to yield beneficial improvements across other sectors – such as  social issues and environmental difficulties, like global warming. 

Can Socially Responsible Investing help mitigate climate change? 

The act of socially responsible investing alone does not mitigate climate change directly. However, encouraging other investors  to participate in socially responsible investing can encourage more companies to establish environmentally friendly goals that will reduce emissions and can aid in the fight against global warming. 

Basically, if more and more investors become adamant about socially responsible investing, companies will have no choice but to alter their business model to be more environmentally friendly in order to meet the credentials required of socially responsible investing. 

💡 If more companies change their industrial habits to reduce emissions because they are more likely to receive funding if they do, then in a way –  social responsible investing will help to mitigate climate change. 

Is Socially Responsible Investing good for the future of your business? 

Socially responsible investing is extremely beneficial for any business.

SRI’s not only help an ulterior social or environmental cause, but it is helping various social and environmental projects while also financially aiding your own business. Socially responsible investing can also serve  as an incentive for your company to obtain well-known environmental credentials – like ESG score or an ISO 14001. 

It’s easy to get started with socially responsible investing. It begins with deciding which environmental and social causes are most important to you. After that, you can consider how much effort you’d like to put into the investment – choosing to use ETFs or seeking third party assistance that can help you create the perfect portfolio for your socially responsible investment. 

👉 Ultimately, socially responsible investing is long-term investment for a better future for everyone involved. Future investors, customers, and employees are more likely to contribute to a business or project that seeks to qualify as a socially responsible investment – and as climate change continues to infiltrate our daily lives, sustainable finance is more important than ever before.

How can your company get started with SRI?

If your company is looking to get started with socially responsible investing (SRI), there are several steps that your business will need to remain mindful of when seeking to employ this new but worthwhile investment strategy. 

Here's a guide to help your company embark on this journey:

Every business is bound to consider a different mutual fund as "socially responsible". This means your company will need to re-evaluate the ESG factors most imperative to your company's mission statement. 

Environmental impact (such as your company's emissions or renewable energy use)

Social Impact (such as labor practices and community engagement)

Governance Impact (such as DEI policies and use of investment dollars)


This step will require writing an SRI policy that matches both your company's financial investment goals alongside your ESG criteria and desired corporate management processes. In this phase of developing your company's plans with SRI, it's important to consider your company's values, and to determine how you will screen your investments. 

Negative screening vs. Positive screening

Negative screening – Less restrictive than positive screen, this type of screening refers to excluding any investments in companies that don't work alongside your business values – such as with unfair labor policies, international bribery or corruption, or a lack of sustainable procurement. 

Positive screening – This type of screening refers to the process of finding companies with high ESG scores to then be chosen for your own SRI portfolio.

It is imperative to involve key stakeholders such as your employees, investors, and board members while developing your SRI strategy. This may include conducting anonymous surveys and seeking to boost communication efforts to ensure you have the support of your stakeholders.

There are several SRI investment strategies to choose an appropriate investment strategy based on your defined criteria.

Here are some of the different strategies to choose from:

Negative Screening – which excludes companies that do not incorporate ESG standards into their financial portfolios. 

Positive Screening – which seeks to invest in companies that meet various ESG criteria

ESG Integration – which works to employ ESG principles into traditional financial analysis.

Thematic Investing – which focuses on incorporating specific aspects into your SRI strategy such as by investing in climate smart farming or even gender equality. 

It is crucial to conduct ample research before choosing your SRI investment portfolio. This can be done by using SRI databases, ESG ratings, and by reading sustainability reports. If this sounds like too much work, you can always consult a third party such as an asset manager or a financial advisor specializing in an SRI portfolio. 

6.Continue to Manage & Monitor Your SRI Performance

Once you've chosen your sustainable mutual fund or responsible investors to work with, it may seem like the hard part is over – but in truth, SRI requires consistent upkeep to ensure that your investment remains beneficial for both the planet and your business. 

Luckily, you can easily set up this process with the help of Greenly to improve your stakeholder communication and manage your ESG performance with ease.

As goals and circumstances evolve, it is normal to make amendments to your strategy as you go. In order to ensure all of the best adjustments are being made, it's important to stay up-to-date and all the latest ESG trends and practices. In addition to this, it's important to stay in communication with your stakeholders to implement their feedback as necessary.

👉 All in all, SRI can help your company to demonstrate an extended effort to environmental reform while also helping to benefit the planet, surrounding communities, and your business growth.

If reading this article about socially responsible investing, otherwise known as SRI – has made you interested in reducing your carbon  emission to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help  you!

Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.

Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint. 

What is the corporate sustainability reporting directive, otherwise known as the CSRD? Why is it so important for the financial future of the European Union?

What is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)?

Introduced by the European Commission in 2021, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) seeks to standardise non-financial reporting by companies, enhancing the consistency and quality of publicly available data. Notably, these new standards will impact a vast array of organisations, coming into effect on January 1st, 2024.

💡 What exactly is the CSRD directive? Who does it concern? What changes can be expected? Why could this directive prove beneficial for your company?

In this article, we'll explain the importance for EU companies report for sustainability information, how the CSRD differs from the Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), how non EU companies are subject to CSRD requirements, and how sustainability matters affect large public interest companies and their financial risks.

Greenly explains us what exactly is the CSRD directive? Who does it concern? What changes can be expected? Why could this directive prove beneficial for your company?

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Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive - definition

The acronym CSRD stands for Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and was drafted by the European Commission in April 2021. This new European regulatory framework for sustainability was published on December 16, 2022, in the Official Journal of the EU.

It will require large companies to publish non-financial reports in accordance with standards established at the European level (the ESRS, which we will discuss further below). Detailed information on risks, opportunities, and material impacts related to social, environmental, and governance issues is expected.

Generally speaking, it seeks to fulfill the ambitions of the European Green Deal by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 – and also aligns with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the EU Taxonomy information.

It's important to note that the information needs of financial actors are becoming more pressing: let's remember that they are also subject to certain ESG reporting obligations and possibly another separate sustainability report under other reporting entities.

Unlike financial reporting, climate related disclosures and other non-financial reporting includes three additional dimensions:

the impact of the activity on the climate; 

how the organisation manages these issues.

Until now, the non-financial performance statements of European companies were regulated by the NFRD (Non-Financial Reporting Directive). However, deemed insufficiently ambitious, it will be replaced by the well-known directive (EU) 2022/2464, known as "CSRD"."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a Green Deal Industrial Plan, designed to ensure the EU does not lose ground in the green tech race and can counter massive subsidies by the U.S. and China.

What's in the EU Green Deal Industrial Plan?

👉 The main goal of the CSRD is to increase the economic flow towards more sustainable business models throughout the European Union. 

The CSRD aims to accentuate the growing awareness of environmental, social, and governance factors, otherwise known as ESG factors.

It has been shown that most companies do not strive to create transparency and therefore, the European Union feels it is necessary to implement regulations like the CSRD, in order to provide companies with the proper incentive to increase their awareness regarding the social and environmental impacts their company may have.

In turn, this can not only allow companies to meet CSRD reporting requirements, but also to promote the importance of collecting sustainability data, sufficient reporting principles, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cultivate new business relationships, and rectify their overall business model.

The European Union has always been a leader in environmental measures, and the CSRD helps to unify the European Union in the efforts to cultivate more sustainable business practices.

The CSRD targets financial and non-financial companies covered by the Accounting Directive and the Transparency Directive, and falling into the following categories:

companies listed on European regulated markets, including listed SMEs (micro-enterprises identified by the Accounting Directive are excluded); 

other large European companies, listed or not, exceeding two of the three defined thresholds (250 employees, 40 million euros in revenue, and/or 20 million euros in total assets); 

non-European companies whose subsidiaries or branches have revenues exceeding 150 million euros within the European Union. 

💡 Important: If the parent company prepares consolidated reporting, subsidiaries may be exempt from reporting. However, certain information must still be provided by the exempted entity. Furthermore, large listed companies cannot benefit from this arrangement.

Note: SMEs will have reduced reporting obligations. The size of European subsidiaries and branches will also be taken into account. Similarly, non-European companies will only be required to disclose information related to their socio-environmental impacts.

To date, nearly 50,000 companies are identified as being affected by the CSRD directive. While micro-enterprises and non-listed SMEs are not required to publish this report, they can still do so voluntarily. ‍

As a reminder, micro-enterprises are entities meeting the following criteria:

a workforce equal to or less than 10 employees; 

a balance sheet equal to or less than 250,000 €; 

revenues equal to or less than 700,000 €.

Preparing for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

The CSRD is taking European countries by storm, as this new directive will require more companies than ever before to disclose their emission activity and other notable environmental impacts – finally requiring the transparency and action in the EU necessary in order to curb climate change once and for all.

However, companies within the United Kingdom may still be in the dark about how the CSRD will affect them – seeing as the CSRD is a European initiative to tackle emissions and encourage greater sustainability.

That being said, many companies implicated by the CSRD may have U.K. counterparts, branches, or partners – meaning that some companies in the U.K. may be more affected by the CSRD than they might think.

Any company with headquarters in the U.K. that operates within the E.U. may be subject to the same reporting directives as companies solely based in the European Union.

👉 Even if U.K. companies do not have roots in the European Union, the CSRD will still apply to them if they have reasonable financial revenue from the EU – such as popular stores headquartered in the U.K. like M&S, Primark, and Lush.

This means that any U.K. companies that have profitable operations within the EU will still be affected by the CSRD, especially if that branch accumulates more than €40 million euros (around £33 million GBP) or has a net turnover of over €150 million euros from sales within the EU (around £125 million GBP) over the past two consecutive years.

In addition to these, U.K. companies need to remain mindful that if they are indeed required to report under the CSRD, their report must include the activity from all of their operations – meaning U.K. companies could be subject to the same requirements as European companies.

Remember, U.K. companies may be exempt from the group level threshold until January 1st, 2028 – but for the 2029 reporting year, parent U.K. companies will need to adhere to the CSRD. 

However, these stringent regulations will become more clear once a relationship is established between the UK's ISSB and the CSRD.

U.K. companies that will be required to report under the CSRD will need to prepare one of the following reports in order to be deemed compliant:

A standard similar to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB);

A standard accepted as an equivalent on behalf of the European Commissions;

A standard developed for U.K. companies required to adhere to the CSRD, which is set to be developed by the European Commission by June 2024.

Prior to reporting under the CSRD, U.K. companies should complete an overview of their current organisational structure and determine which of their EU registered branches must be reported at the group level for the CSRD. 

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