Setting Off In Style

Bonjour, mes amies. Well, as you can tell, I’m in France. At least my article is.
I wrote the fi rst draft when I was on holiday in Tarn and Garonne and the rain was lashing down. Absolutely hammering. Washed away the road. Beautiful place, just rather damp latterly. Climate change? Global warming? I rather think so.
The thing which sparked it off was an article in a Sunday newspaper a couple of weeks ago. This was talking about the extent to which investment funds were buying into companies which dealt with ‘carbon offsetting’. The inference was that this was becoming mainstream and that it was good for the environment. However, if you read a bit further, you discovered that the funds who are investing in this practice are not green, ethically-screened or environmentally-sensitive. They’re the mainstream ones, and they’re doing it for the money.
OK, I know, I know. There’s this basic argument that says that environmental sensitivity doesn’t contradict profi tability. In fact, the Stern Report is based on the idea that innovative ideas to deal with climate change and global warming are the only way forward – Stern, you will understand, thinks that the majority of human beings will only do things for their own good, rather than for the benefit of humanity. Which I rather tend to agree with, sadly.
It’s not because we’re necessarily bad and evil, rather because we tend to react emotionally to short-term situations, whereas long-term planning is rather more of a concept than a feeling. And if you are a regular reader of this column, you’ll know that I’m greatly in favour of decisions which ‘feel’ right.
But I remain a little queasy about mainstream funds investing in carbon-offsetting and then marketing themselves as ‘green’. You see, there is plenty of money available to support and reward companies which are setting up alternative energy systems – and especially existing businesses who would otherwise have gone down the route of fossil fuels.
Unfortunately there are only a limited number of external validators who are able to establish whether somebody who applies for a grant is telling the truth. And carbon offsetting is rather a …well…dodgy business. I don’t mean that it’s essentially corrupt, simply that there are large intergovernmental agencies which will give you money for not doing something you possibly weren’t going to do anyway. And as they don’t have the resources to check whether you’re telling the truth, questionable businesses are tending to paint themselves green and apply for substantial grants.
And mainstream fund managers are investing in them because the relevant companies are exploiting the system and becoming profitable in the process - but not actually reducing carbon emissions. And people associate these decisions with genuine green fi nances which, as a result, start to look closer to khaki.
Fundamentally, the issue is whether mainstream fund managers have a context within which to operate – apart from simply making as much money as possible, irrespective of the damage they cause in the process. And I suspect that the answer is generally ‘no’.
It’s unfortunate that most of them haven’t done the brilliant course Making Friends With Money (did I mention that this was being re-launched in October?). This workshop is designed to allow you to experience your desired outcome. Which means that you then have a ‘feeling’ target rather than a conceptual one. And this allows you to relax and concentrate on the short-term process while remaining in line with the long-term outcome. Clever, eh?
You see, the primary issue about money is establishing a basic relationship – but with yourself, rather than with financial issues. Because money is a means to an end, rather than the end itself. And once you have got in touch with your deep inner truth, you have a genuine framework - but you don’t necessarily know where you want to go. So you have to allow your desired outcome to come forth or you’ll just tend to drift.
Unfortunately – as mentioned above - outcomes are mostly thoughts and ideas. And human beings fi nd it diffi cult to remember our long-term desires when we’re emotionally engaged in the day-to-day excitement. But if your target is emotionally congruent and you’ve made a personal commitment to achieving it, you will find that your ongoing activities change to support this outcome.
And yes, I realise that this is a really conceptual piece. Here’s a suggestion – read it again, slowly and out loud. When you hear something in your own voice it’s easier to ‘get it’ than when it’s being scanned by your brain. You see? Experience rather than concept.
So what’s the point about carbon-offsetting? Well fi rstly I don’t think it works, secondly I suspect that it tarnishes (I was going to say ‘pollutes’) genuine environmental projects and thirdly, it has a marketing spin which suggests that conventional funds are greener and more environmentally conscious than is actually the case. So if you’re interested in investing in genuine green funds, go through a specialist who knows what they’re doing. Yes, me. My contact details are at the end of this article.
And come and do the wonderful workshop Making Friends With Money. This is now a two-day course on 21st October and 11th November in Exeter. The website is currently being updated, but if you want to know more, send me an e-mail at info@makingfriendswithmoney.com Whew. Got there. Bon vacance. Hope to see you in October.