Sustainable Investing for Global Development in Online Trading– Beyond2015

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 interconnected global goals that were implemented to achieve a better and more sustainable future for the whole world.

The SDGs were put in motion in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly (UN GA), and 2030 was set to be the deadline for these goals. As a successor of the MDGs, the SDGs expanded and improved upon the MDGs' pre-existing global framework, which concluded in 2015.

The 17 SDGs essential for the betterment of sustainability across the globe are:

Developing countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, and India, among others, have benefitted immensely through the MDGs and SDGs.

Sustainable investing is the investment practice that takes an individual's ethical and moral values towards environment, social and corporate governance (ESG) into account and combines it with traditional investment strategies to determine investment choices. 

This form of investing is perfect for investors who want their money to make a positive impact on the world at large and avoid the companies that contribute negatively to the environment and society in the form of massive carbon footprints, low worker wages, etc.

“US Sustainable and Impact Investing Trends,” which is a report by The US SIF Foundation, detected $17.1 trillion in total assets under management at the end of 2019 using sustainable investing strategies. This is a massive 42 percent increase from the $12.0 trillion identified in 2017.

Thus, out of the $51.4 trillion of total US assets under professional management, about 33% of the entire financial distribution involves sustainable investing strategies. This piece of research shows the steadily growing popularity of sustainable investing in this economic landscape.

This type of sustainable investment aims to invest in business enterprises that positively impact the environment. Although it shares many similarities with SRI (socially responsible investing) and ESG (environmental, social, governance), the criteria are more specific in terms of investment options, focusing solely on the ecological impact.

Some major green business sectors include:

This type of investment strategy is based on proactively eliminating candidates that don’t align with the investor’s moral compass. Although ESG is used here, instead of financial prospects, the focus is more on finding potential investments that match the investor’s values, religious inclination, and political beliefs.

For example, investors can detect and weed out businesses supporting firearms production from their investment portfolio if they hold anti-conflict beliefs.

Some prominent negative SRI screens include:

Impact investing is the practice of investing in a particular business entity with a specific social, political or environmental impact in mind.

The prime focus of impact investment is to support a business or an enterprise to help them accomplish beneficial goals for the environment and society.

Often compared with philanthropy, an example of this type of investment would include an investor funding a nonprofit organization that provides free education to children and affordable food for families in an underprivileged part of the world.

One of the most popular and frequent forms of sustainable investing assets includes the stocks of environmentally friendly businesses. Be it companies aiming to provide renewable sources of energy to the masses or companies researching on developing biodegradable alternatives to harmful pollutants such as plastic and other substances.

Investing in company stocks that are committed to the welfare of the environment is a staple choice in this investment strategy.

Some famous Ethical company (an organization that clearly explains environmental, social, and governance rules) stocks include:

Provided by asset management firms, ETFs, mutual funds, and index funds, they are considered a solid investment option in this field due to their broad exposure to many ethical businesses all over the globe.

An example would be investing in a company pioneering in developing more environmentally friendly materials. Ideally, this company would support a good cause while investing in a potential breakthrough that can yield profitable financial returns.

Bitcoins are based on a proof of work verification system for their blockchain, which involves many calculations and immense processing power to produce coins. Thus, environmentally conscious traders have started exploring cryptocurrencies with a lesser carbon footprint, or in other words, cryptos with more straightforward calculations.

Cryptocurrencies that rely on a proof of stake system have a much simpler calculation process for generating currency. Additionally, alternative green cryptos have fewer transactions daily, making it a perfect choice for sustainable investing.

Some examples of eco-friendly cryptocurrencies include: