People are finding their voice. Becoming outspoken in the things that align with their values and core belief system. With more convenient access to technology and information than ever before, we are making better educated decisions in everything we do. One at the forefront of business and social responsibility is the care and concern for our planet. A statement issued by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, expresses “we have only 12 years to get global warming under control.“ This report by the world’s leading climate scientists is an ear-splitting wake-up call to the world. It confirms
“climate change is running faster than we are — and we are running out of time.”
Ban Ki-moon
Is this the wake-up call to embrace our personal responsibility to make the planet a better place? Whether global warming is top of mind or not, each of us should be considering what we can do daily to reduce our carbon footprint. And now businesses are taking a stand to align with nature and responsibility.
Corporations are staying steadfast in their beliefs to support the environment, communities, purpose, and profit. Many becoming Certified B Corporations. This certification ensures a company is held to the highest standards in social and environmental performance, measuring how operations impact not only our planet but employees and customers. A designation is built into the legal structure creating bi-laws for company-wide awareness and focus for positive influence.
One company taking this philosophy to a deeper level is Earth Equity Advisors’ located in Asheville, NC, who is deeply rooted in assisting people to build social and environment-friendly investment portfolios. The company’s values align with Certified B Corporation standards, offering financial planning and investment management that allocates strategies and investments only into socially responsible companies and environmentally friendly initiatives that give back. Peter Krull, CEO of Earth Equity Advisor’s, founded the company in 2004 to provide investors an opportunity to invest in alignment with their values. Krull is one who found his voice as an advocate for the environment and took a stand as an impact investment leader. He and his team take the time to recognize companies where actions are louder than words when it comes to green influence and economic strength.
“It’s a really exciting time to be in the responsible investing business,” Krull said.
“This segment of the investing industry continues to grow at a remarkably fast rate, and with the huge millennial interest and studies showing that women will control over 2/3 of investments by 2030, I’m confident that growth will continue.”
The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing recently published its biennial report showing that the amount of responsible investments grew by 38% from $8.7 trillion to $12 trillion over the past two years. This means that one out of every four professionally managed dollars invested in the United States is in some form of responsible investment.
Education is key. Awareness of social and individual responsibility is rapidly rising. B Corp designations are building impact versus the buzz of green business. The word green has both inspired people and made eyes roll. Now it is about purpose. No matter what your beliefs are, we cannot deny the plastic in our oceans, landfill capacity, and melting icebergs. These facts are no longer hippie thinking; they are crucial awareness of our everyday impact on the earth. With a little more knowledge, we can make wiser personal, business, and financial decisions and align with the directional gravity pull of the planet.