Reviewing the investments

Reviewing the investments in your portfolio, you realize that the carbon footprint connected to your investments is relatively large, but your oil company stock also pays for the family holidays each year. The company’s website also says that it uses a high proportion of its profits to invest in green and renewable fuels of the future. Do you keep the stock or sell?

In my opinion, I would keep the stock. I would weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the company. Even though the company has a large carbon footprint, I would research how the company mitigates this and how do they make up for it. The company appears to be partaking in a minor form of impact investing. In our text it states “Impact investing is a recently coined term that invokes using investment finance to make an impact for the better across communities and environments” (Fieser, Moseley, 2012, p 10.2). The fact that the company says it uses some of its profits to invest in green renewable energy shows that it is at least addressing the problem.

What principles did you apply in making this decision? Also, how does one check the credibility of the company and its website?

The principle that I applied to make this decision was sustainable investing. Our text described this as “An ethical investment vehicle that intends to maintain investments in worthwhile community or environmental projects over a period of time rather than pull out capital on short notice” (Fieser, Moseley, 2012). One way to check a companies credibility is with the Better Business Bureau. They rate companies and keep information on whether a business conducts itself ethically. It has been noted “The Better Business Bureau is the third-party complaint agency most commonly used by dissatisfied consumer who are unable to obtain redress from companies (Garrett, Toumanoff, 2010, p 3).

References:

Fieser, J. & Moseley, A. (2012). Introduction to business ethics. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUPHI445.12.1/sections/sec9.7?search=cost-benefit#w111029