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Dec 17, 2021
Personal Finance

How To Start Investing in Clean Energy Stocks with ESG Investment Advisors

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For those who care deeply about our planet and environment, investment options are limited. Investing in oil, mining, and other environmentally harmful or extractive industries is simply not an option if you want to support climate-positive action. 

So, where can environmentally conscious investors put their money and still make a good return? Picking individual stocks can be risky or intimidating. For those of us who are more risk-averse, tapping into a well-informed investment advisor and various environmentally-focused funds may be a prudent path. 

Whether you’re investing on your own or through an advisor, there are certain sectors that you definitely want to keep an eye on.  

What Are Renewable Energy Stocks?

A clean energy stock, renewable energy stock, or green energy stock is a stock from any company that produces materials or products that support some form of renewable energy. For example, companies that produce solar panels, residential solar energy systems, hydrogen fuel cells, or mine lithium, all support the renewable-energy industry.

Keep in mind that these companies are also often using finite raw materials sourced to build their products, so you may want to read all you can about how these companies mitigate environmental degradation. 

Why Should You Invest in Renewable Energy?

Regardless of what big oil companies would have you believe, renewable and emission-free energy is the fuel of the future. Fossil fuels, including various forms of oil, coal, and natural gas leave a big carbon footprint behind that remains in the atmosphere warming our planet for years to come. That carbon footprint is created to extract the resource and then intensified when the fuel itself is used and the emissions are released into the atmosphere. 

The effects and dangers of climate change have led to a rising demand for renewable energy and carbon-free energy sources, which is leading to more investor and governmental support for renewable energy companies worldwide. For example, in the United States, President Biden announced a goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030 as part of the country’s renewed commitment to the Paris Climate Accords.


Renewable sources of energy will have a broader market share

According to the World Resources Institute, the “market share of solar and wind in global electricity generation grew at a compound average annual growth rate of 15% from 2015-2020.”

If the growth continues at the same rate, renewable energy sources could account for 45% of the world’s electricity production by 2030.


Diversify your investment portfolio

For investors, this means that there’s never been a better time to invest in the companies that are developing new forms of clean energy production. As the demand for clean energy increases, so could the returns on your investment. 

We are by no means investment advisors though, and it’s always helpful to get the help of an expert. 


Start Investing in Renewable Energy Stocks with Sustainable Investment Advisors

If you want to invest in clean energy stocks, but you don’t want to invest in just one stock or you simply don’t know where to start, one option you have is to work with investment advisors or platforms specializing in sustainable investments and portfolios.

Look for advisors that specialize in ESG investments, or Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments. 

Below are 6 reputable ESG investment firms, advisors or platforms you could consider to help you get started building a green investment portfolio.


Raise Green

Raise Green is an investor marketplace platform for local clean energy investing. It isn’t an ESG fund in the typical sense. The platform offers investors an opportunity to obtain fractional ownership in clean energy and climate-positive projects that have localized impact. Raise Green may provide opportunities for higher risk opportunities versus fund investments. 

To get started, create your investor profile to start browsing local climate action projects. For each investment opportunity, review financial profiles and the anticipated impact.

Once you identify a sustainable project, you can choose whether to invest as little as $100 or as much as $100,000. 


Newday Impact

Newday Impact is an ESG investment firm that offers investors a selection of ethical investment portfolios. Within a young industry of sustainable advisors, Newday is one of the oldest firms around.

Newday Impact’s green investment portfolios are built around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles. These include:

  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Climate
  • Clean water
  • Healthy oceans
  • Wildlife conservation and animal welfare
  • Governance

Through partnerships and deep research into the behavior of the companies whose securities are in Newday Impact’s portfolios, Newday Impact’s advisors continuously provide investment portfolios that are aligned with their investors’ desired impacts.


Green Alpha Advisors

As Green Alpha Advisors put it, “Green Alpha’s investment philosophy is straight forward: don’t invest in companies that cause global systemic risks; invest in the smartest, most scalable and rapidly evolving, economically-competitive solutions.”

Green Alpha Advisors builds green investment portfolios for their clients that provide high-quality investments at reasonable prices. They offer a wide range of options for you to choose from depending on the size of investment you want to make, your financial goals, and other variables.


Envest Asset Management

A Certified B Corp, Envest Asset Management is a boutique investment advisory firm that specializes in ESG and socially responsible investing (SRI). If you want a personal and high-touch experience to help guide your financial decisions, Envest is a great option. 

Envest conducts extensive research on publicly traded and private securities to find and vet opportunities that provide both profit and purpose. The team works hand-in-hand with you to ensure that all your investments align with the ESG and SRI standards you want. True to its sustainable mission, Envest has no minimum balance hurdles; So, regardless of account size, they work with those looking for financial planning and investment advice.


Carbon Collective

Carbon Collective’s theory is that each individual investor has the power to push for positive climate action by using their money as a voice for change.

Carbon Collective offers diversified investment portfolios focused on companies making a positive impact on the environment. 

When you open an investment account with Carbon Collective, they’ll ask you some questions to determine the right account type of portfolio for you. You can choose whether you want to focus solely on climate-related investments or if you want a variety of investments.


Change Finance

Change Finance builds performance-oriented investment products for investors looking to invest in sustainability. They believe investing can not only provide profit for the investors, but also benefit the planet.

The focus of Change Finance advisors is on divesting from fossil fuels and all other projects that do harm to the environment, and reinvesting in clean technology and projects that take the health and wellness of stakeholders and the planet seriously.


Final Thoughts

If you weren’t sure how to start investing in clean energy and sustainability projects when you started reading this article, many of these resources are a great way to learn more. Working with investment advisors specializing in ESG investments can help you to safely align more of your money with your values. 
For your FDIC-insured money (checking and savings), Atmos offers you an opportunity to align 100% of your risk-free money with climate action. You can reduce your own carbon footprint and help transition the world off of fossil fuels simply by keeping your deposits with Atmos. Atmos also offers leading rates, a cashback program for shopping at hundreds of sustainable businesses, and enables fee-free donations to leading environmental nonprofits.

Start your climate journey today - apply for an Atmos account in just 2 minutes.

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