Ethical Money: Is Your Money Being Used as a Force for Good?

Note: This letter from the editor was originally published in our weekly newsletter and is being republished here.

Hey guys,

Over the last few months we’ve been approached by various organisations about ethical finance and it’s wonderful to see that the sustainability movement is evolving to encompass such an important part of our lives.

Tackling money and finances is usually at the bottom of the sustainable lifestyle to-do list when people first ‘go green’. It’s often thrown in the ‘too hard’ basket.

But I recommend that people tackle this part of their lives ASAP (especially as there are so many more responsible financial institutions to choose from!) because it makes no sense carrying around zero waste kits, saying no to plastic and going on climate marches, when they’re money (savings, investments, retirement/super money) is undoing all their positive work and being loaned to and funding industries that don’t align with their eco values such as coal, oil and gas.

So here are some questions for you: Is your bank/financial institution or retirement/super fund investing in fossil fuels (ie coal-fired power plants), weapons manufacture and militarism, live exports, gambling, tobacco etc? Is your savings/investments being used as a force for good?

Now we’ve recently partnered with one of Australia’s pioneering ethical financial institutions Australian Ethical Super (a collab no-brainer as my super has been invested with them since 2016) to raise awareness about this important topic, so if you’re keen to learn more about why I made the ethical super switch, read this post.

Anyway, here’s what I’m reading, watching and listening to:

Podcast Shows / Films:

The Gamechangers Movie. A documentary film about the benefits of plant-based eating for athletes (if you’re health and fitness conscious this is going to get you thinking… and eating more green leafy veg ha!)

Gemma Newman, MD is the Plant Power Doctor, Rich Roll. A wonderful podcast with a family doctor who became convinced about the power of plant-based nutrition after observing the performance results of her marathon-running husband and reviewing the extensive research into plant-based eating.