In the 15-day Anatomy of Action challenge, we focus together and encourage each other to make more sustainable choices in our everyday lives. Now, let's talk about the domain #money!
The Anatomy of Action (AoA) is a 15-day social media challenge that strives to make sustainable living the dominant global norm. Based on scientific evidence, it separates lifestyles into 5 areas of action: food, stuff, move, money, and fun. This week’s topic is #money, and we will be detailing three of the highest impact actions that we can all adopt for a more sustainable world which are #Ethicalinvesting, #Divestment, and #EnergyPositiveHomes
Money is something we use in our everyday life. However, often we do not think about what role it plays in our economy, nor about the consequences of how it is spent. One might view money as a neutral object, while it in fact carries huge implications for society and the environment we live in. Where you spend your money matters! Everything we buy has an impact on people and the planet and we have the power to choose what our money supports.
Ethical investing is the practice of selecting investments based on ethical or moral principles. We use our principles to guide investing and consider socially and environmentally responsible options. Ethical investing gives the individual the power to allocate capital toward companies whose practices and values align with their personal beliefs. Everything we buy has an impact on people and the planet and since we vote with our pocket, it is integral to choose to spend our money on sustainable and ethical banks, institutions, and companies that have positive impacts.
Where to start?
To begin, we as an investor should carefully examine and document which investments to avoid and which are of interest. Research is essential for accurately determining whether an investment or group of investments coincides with our ethics, especially when investing in an index or mutual fund. It is also important to confirm the company's commitment to ethical practices.
In finance and economics, divestment is the reduction of assets for financial, ethical, or political objectives or the sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. It is an adaptive change and adjustment of a company's ownership and business portfolio made to confront internal and external changes. Our goal is to actively swap our financial institutions or services to more sustainable options.
But how can we effectively do that?
We want to move away from industries that are unsustainable and instead choose investments, banks, energy providers, and other companies that are opting for sustainable options. With that being said, more and more people will move away from unsustainable institutions, and it sends a message to companies to consider their business models and actions to support renewable energy, sustainable technologies, and more responsible products for a better future and their performance.
While it is important to live in a happy and comfortable environment, it is also important to save energy and money by adapting our home and our habits to be more efficient.
But how can we achieve that?
Energy positive homes are so efficient that they produce more energy than they consume, leaving us with extra energy to use in other ways such as powering our mobile devices, power tools, or even our electric cars. Renewable energy and efficiency can save us money, generate utility savings over time, and increase the value of our property. We can also help support the local economy and increase the level of comfort by enhancing the quality of our lives just by making our homes more sustainable.
We can even insulate our home against weather changes which can dramatically reduce emissions and promote climate change mitigation!
The environmental issues that we face every day are very complex but the small choices and steps that we make on the journey of more sustainable life and planet are so important and can make a big difference and improvement. Our passion can motivate others to join our journey as well, and that’s what matters!
Share your own Anatomy of Action journey, so others can do the same! We at ReGeneration 2030 would also love to see what you are doing this week. Don’t forget to use #ReGenAoA, and tag @ReGeneration.2030.
The fourth Edition of RGW2021 will be built upon the five AoA domains, and the results will be shared at our RGW2021. We want to highlight your actions and make them known to policymakers in the Nordic and Baltic Sea Region!
Want to know more about ReGeneration, Anatomy of Action or ReGeneration Week? Here are some links which might be helpful:
ReGenerationWeek: https://regenerationweek.org/
Toolkit with graphics for the challenge. It's never too late to participate: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XNJO1yS1XqHRWrO1iull4Dy7JYjsiKQX?usp=sharing
This blog post is written by: Katarina Drakul
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