I personally hold investments in green technology; in fact about 30% of what I have invested is in green companies. However, despite this I’m not an advocate of investing in green technology for the sake of it. If something can’t be profitable then piling loads of money isn’t going to help and although I like the idea of investing in these companies that will improve the world we live in, I invested to make good profits, not for anything else.
A lot of green companies hide behind the banner of the ‘green brand’ expecting companies to fork out a lot more money for their products, but a lot of these companies purely and simply won’t last that long, so save your money for those that can be successful. With rising oil prices, however, it is becoming easier and easier for green companies to make money. We’re yet to see progress with electric cars and for now we must be content with hybrids, but in terms of transport there is progress being made.
The reason for this progress is simple, and that is because it is now costing more and more to run something that depends on oil. If you drive a truck or a bus you’ll find that you don’t get good fuel efficiencies so it makes business sense to invest in your fuel in advance by going electric. With fuel efficiencies and prices being as they are it now makes more and more sense to do so and on the lifespan of a vehicle, drivers are now likely to save money by going green.
Going green isn’t limited to transport, but energy is a more complicated field to invest in. What you need to work out is which direction progress is going to be made in and ensure that you don’t end up investing in a company that looks good now, but which will be out competed by new companies that can produce energy cheaper. It’s going to be a fast moving market where there will be a real risk of being left behind if you are not careful. However, what I do think will be a successful tactic, will be an investment in a company that is able to boost energy efficiencies. This is an established market that is going to become more and more lucrative as time goes by and as resources get more and more expensive offering less for more. What these technologies can do is offer more for less countering these rises in costs. How to invest here is a tricky one, but if you manage it you’ll find yourself well rewarded.
For financial reasons the world is going to be going greener in the future and there is money to be made in this market – you just need to make sure you help out the companies that can make the difference not those that are full of hot air. The latter won’t help the environment or your bank balance.