INVESTING IN A GREENER WORLD

Here's how you can help FUND the future of SUSTAINABILITY-and, hopefully, make some money for YOURSELF at the same time

- PENELOPE WANG

THIS YEAR'S RECORD-BREAKING HEAT WAVES, MASSIVE STORMS AND DAMaging wildfires have made the dangers of climate change clearer, in a more personal way, than ever before. Roughly three-quarters of Americans now say they've been affected by extreme weather in the past five years, a near 20-point jump in five months, and the majority believe climate change is at least partly to blame, according to a September poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Those risks have prompted a growing number of people to direct their dollars into investments that aim to tackle global warming and improve the environment-hoping to help save the planet and make some money at the same time.

Popularly known as green investing, this strategy is part of a broader trend among both market pros and consumers to consider non-financial factors along with strictly financial ones, when making decisions about money, from which funds to pick for your 401(k) to where you bank and which retail brands you buy. The investing version is commonly called ESGthe three letters refer to strategies that use environmental, social and governance (company leadership, policies and operations) criteria to help pick stocks. And in recent years the cash has been pouring in. Total assets in ESG investments now stand at around $8.4 trillion, or about 12.6 percent of all the money invested in the U.S., according to the nonprofit Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF). Put another way, one in every eight U.S. investor dollars is currently stashed in an ESG investment fund.

"People are already making consumer decisions related to sustainability by choosing brands that offer fuel-efficient cars or foods that are organically grown, and now they're making similar decisions with their investing," says Michael Young, director of education at US SIF.