You Can Own a Piece of These Green Companies
Money may be the root of all evil, but it also makes our modern world go round. And while we’d like to vote with our dollars, the stock market is overrun with greedy, greenwashing corporations that make half-a$$ attempt to act like they care about the earth and the creatures on it.
Luckily, there are a few companies on Wall Street that might actually be making the world a better place. If you’re going to play the market, consider investing in the following better companies that are capitalizing on earth-friendly innovations.
EcoLab
Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, this corporation develops technology for cleaning, sanitizing, and water and energy management. The company influences clients around the world, employing 24,000 people in the US and 50,200 globally.
CEO Doug Baker is an MVP in championing for clean water, arguing that “If climate change is a shark, water is the teeth, and you’re going to feel that first.” He frequently calls on other leaders to address climate change and the “water calamity” through business practices, and has proactively aligned EcoLab with the UN Global Compact. EcoLab now aims to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and to net-zero by 2050.
In 2018, EcoLab’s water-conservation effort saved 188 billion gallons, in turn preventing 1.1 million tons of green house emissions. I’m not market expert. But I do believe that with more environmental and sanitation concerns than ever, I’d like to invest in a company which has both good growth prospects and strong ethical values.
US Concrete
Here’s a not-so-fun fact: The production of concrete is a top producer of carbon dioxide, generating approximately eight percent of global emissions annually. Production of the main ingredient in concrete- called “clinker” - involves heating a kiln to 1400 celsius. It’s incredibly energy intensive, and here I was blaming the cows.
Enter US Concrete. US Concrete develops low CO2-producing cement mixes. By replacing traditional cement ingredients with industrial substitutes, the company has reduced emissions from concrete production by 50%. The company also produces “pervious” concrete, which as a porous structure that allows rainwater to pass through to the soil.
Considering the ubiquitousness of concrete in infrastructure, this is no small feat. Booming urbanization and the associated rise in concrete demand necessitates alternatives to traditional concrete production, so I’ll place my bets on this company.
Tesla
I saved the most obvious for last, although this is definitely the first stock that comes to mind when looking for green businesses (minus Patagonia- but that’s privately owned).
I don’t need to explain Tesla, the tech/car company founded by Elon Musk, the mad entrepreneur who makes reusable rocket ships and sub-terrain tunnels. With it's fleet of sophisticated electric cars, Tesla aims to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” And with disruptively low prices - cars may soon be offered at $25k- that is exactly what the company is doing.
Tesla released its environmental impact report for 2019 last month. It claims that only 252 metric tons of CO2 have been emitted from the 100 million miles that its vehicles have collectively driven. The stock price is high- and will probably get higher- but it’s for a good reason.
Do you have any green stock recommendations? Let us know in the comments!