Today we celebrate Earth Day and sticking to the theme of this year’s Earth Day, “Restore Our Earth”, this blog post is focusing on restoring the world’s ecosystems by helping you reduce your carbon footprint.
Did you know that meat and cheese are some of the most carbon-intensive foods to produce?(1) Globally, 77% of agricultural land is used to produce meat and dairy and according to The Land Report, the meat and dairy industries are on track to be the world’s biggest contributors to climate change, outpacing even the fossil fuel industry. In just the U.S. alone, 41% of U.S. land in the contiguous states revolves around livestock.(2) According to the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the methane produced by agricultural waste (biomass, inedible crop waste, livestock manure) accounted for 36% of the U.S. total methane emissions between 1990 and 2017. While methane represented about 10% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2017, the EPA notes the comparative impact of methane is “25 times greater than CO2”.
Having a balanced diet is just one way to reduce your carbon footprint and we invite you to explore the many other ways you can reduce your carbon footprint by experimenting with the MIT Interactive Climate Change Simulator, EN-ROADS. Click HERE to test out the EN-ROADS simulator.
You may be asking how this ties in with my investments and BFSG? Many of our clients are expecting more than just shareholder returns from the public companies in which they invest. They want these companies to have management and leadership in place that is mindful of the footprint that they leave in the world. We agree companies should uphold their basic responsibilities to people and the planet. Furthermore, we believe exposure to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors can meaningfully impact the long-term sustainability of a company’s business. We are now proud to say that we have several different new ESG investment strategies to meet our clients’ investing goals and objectives. Whether you are passionate about environmental opportunities that will reduce greenhouse gasses or are looking to invest broadly in companies that meet the ESG criteria, we have a portfolio strategy for you.
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