Similar to what Birch said, invest locally. It has a way higher chance of being used responsibly and you might even get to see the positive effects firsthand.
this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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Yes, but how? I can't just walk up to somebody and go "hey, here's my money". How does that work?
A good UK example is Ethex. There you can say "Here's my money" and lend to small sustainable projects. I've lent money to a community energy project, for example, and am getting a 6% return on that
My experience? 99% of green tech, like almost all other startups, is either trying to reinvent the wheel, solely depending on VC, banking on legislative change that will never happen, green in name only, or just a straight up scam. And investing itself is part of the problem, because a lot of the business nowadays is just appearances to attract investors, cash out, move on. You can't invest in any company and hope they stay true to their word, because sooner or later some MBAsshole is going to maximize shareholder value the place either into the ground or into suck-the-planet-dry for profit country.
Where does that leave you? Use your money and invest in yourself, your home, your family, possibly build a doomsday bunker or a self sustaining farmstead.
If OP hopes to retire or purchase a home (or farm land) someday, investing is pretty much a necessary part of that. I won't say it's true for every case but it's probably true for OP. Spending all your money isn't a great long-term financial strat (though the farmstead plan, if someone can somehow afford it without investing, seems pretty damn solid to me)
Where does that leave you? Use your money and invest in yourself, your home, your family, possibly build a doomsday bunker or a self sustaining farmstead.
With what money, my dude? My home? You must be joking. Family? I don't see how giving them money is "investing".
build a doomsday bunker or a self sustaining farmstead
Again, with what money? That's the purpose of investing.
Your suggestions make me think you are rich enough to live in a different world. Suggesting investing a home....
I don’t see how giving them money is “investing”.
A stronger community has benefits that are harder to quantify, particularly in dollars and cents. On the flip side, truly local communities and the network of obligations, debts, favors, etc. can survive even when a fiat currency crashes.
"The best place to store excess food is in your neighbor's stomach."
Remember: never invest anything you can't afford to lose -- anything that you can't afford to lose needs to be saved, not invested.
I consider the money I spent installing solar panels on my house an investment. My electric bill is less than $10 per month. If the stock market tanks, my electric bill will still be less than $10 per month. I helped support a local solar company and a solar manufacturer.
For investing, I use https://fossilfreefunds.org/ to help screen funds. Like you ate discovering, "ESG" is a broad term that gets slapped on a lot of things that may not fit your definition.
Sphere is one fund in particular that uses their voting power to try and steer the companies whose stock they hold away from fossil fuels.
Private investment almost invariably has negative returns, and even ESG ETFs are sketchy as you note.
As others have written, for positive returns, focus on capital investments in your own life. I have a solar subscription with a 10% IRR and recently replaced my pool pump with a variable speed one: $2,000 installed that saves $300/annum with an average lifespan of ten years for an 8.1% IRR.
Go solar. Replace your gas heat with a heat pump. Install on demand or electric heat pump water heaters. Swap your gas car for an electic.
Vote both at the ballot and with your wallet against MAGA policies.
Same, most ESG-based ETFs that I have seen just sound like some sort of numbers fudging instead of reasonable effort.
The more specilized green-adjacent and less "generic" ETFs I found are:
- ETHO for very diversified companies (only one holding is over 1%)
- TAN for solar
- FAN for wind
- EVX for trash and recycling (kind of a moot point of making money on pollution though)
- FIW for water tech (supply, filtering, plumbing)
Been using GoParity for a couple years. I can't say if I'm making or losing money at this point. 7 our of 20 projects I've I veste din have delayed payments, and one even went bankrupt. GoParity does go hard after the companies to bring payments back to normal, but still... Definitely don't invest money you can't afford loosing.
Important post, thank you. I'm looking for the same solution.
A post by me that doesn't solve the problem, but is somewhat relevant:
"How much of your money is invested in evil corporations? Some advice for ethical investing"
https://feddit.uk/post/24222258
Carbon collective has pretty good funds IMO
I'm in a bunch of ESG stuff, but that label is very squishy, so you have to do a lot of research on the individual fund(s) to figure out if their current investments and future strategy align with your goals. It's my retirement plan, and there's not enough yet, so I compromise a bit to have good returns without exhausting myself researching. E.g.: https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/summary/09260W600
If you plan to stay where you are at, you could invest locally. Your municipality (and county and state and nation) probably issues bonds, and even if you've missed the initial sale, you can often buy them on the secondary markets.
It increases your risk, but you could also invest directly in specific green companies -- buying stock if they are publicly traded, or buying stock/equity by contacting the company directly (or via your broker).
Is your goal financial return, or promoting an environmental / energy efficient future? Both? I think people usually mean the former when they say "invest" but it might mean either.
If it fits your goals, looking for a community solar or municipal energy plan with a green/local option can provide additionality, and 'less climate catastrophe' / 'more energy independence' are kinds of return on investment I value.
Though I'd also like my retirement funds to be supporting / depending on value from non fossil fuel.