By David Rubens

Kermit the Frog once famously sang ‘It’s not easy being green’. And he was right – being truly green takes a lot more effort than perhaps many people realise. And this is true not just at a personal level, but for society as a whole.

Bikes and solar panels

Every day, I see people around me going to great lengths at a personal level to contribute to a greener world. Out of personal concern for their children or grandchildren’s futures, or simply out of a feeling of civic duty and a desire to take care of the planet we live on. I see people biking in any kind of weather, people installing solar panel systems, people eating only organic food, even people making their own shampoo or washing powder.

While I applaud these efforts, I can’t help but wonder if these people have thought about greening their personal finances too. Because if they haven’t, all their efforts might be in vain.

While our money is not the first thing that comes to mind when we think about environmentalism, our finances can have a huge impact on the future of this planet. Let me give you an example. Say that you bike to work every day, because you care about the amount of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, but at the same time, your bank invests all the money on your bank account in the oil industry. Wouldn’t that offset your personal efforts? But you can do something about it. Moving your bank account to a sustainable bank is easy – in fact, it takes less time and effort than it does to make shampoo! I tried it – it takes 10 minutes (switching banks, not making shampoo).

Trrrillions, people!

Why does it matter if your finances are green or not?

To reach the targets of the Paris agreement, trillions of euros in investments in sustainable infrastructure will be needed over the next few decades. And while governments all around the world are freeing up impressive budgets, public money is simply not sufficient to finance the investments we have to make.

The money on your bank account is being lent out again by your bank. It’s vital that each of us ensure that money is being invested in sustainable sectors. As an example, the amount of money ‘sitting’ in Belgian savings accounts alone is a stunning €290 billion. Imagine if that money was used only for green sectors (or at least was removed from brown sectors). And that’s only bank accounts; sustainable finance is also about greener pension funds, insurances, bonds, etc.

Serenity, courage and wisdom

Perhaps you’ve heard of the famous serenity prayer: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.’ It applies very well to how we deal with global environment issues. Sure, there are things we cannot control on a personal scale. I have no say in the sustainability agenda of big players like the US or China. But that’s by no means a reason to be defeatist and ignore the personal contribution I can bring to the issue. I can ride my bike, live and eat in an environmentally responsible way, and… green my finances.

Find out how: green-finances.eu

David Rubens works at the European Commission and is in charge of Sustainable Finance communications and campaigns.