The recent Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, illustrates why socially responsible investing is so important.   Norfolk Southern, owned by a who's who of Wall Street banks, ranks poorly on corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) guidelines that socially responsible investing promotes:  They killed almost 44,000 fish, amphibians…

For decades, Green America has promoted better banking options. We’ve educated the public and businesses on problems with conventional mega-banks, from their financing of fossil fuels to a history of racist and abusive financial practices, to lack of support for micro-enterprises. We’ve also educated people on the wide array of better banking options that are available, from community…

One thing has become clear: sustainable and green businesses are not a fad, and they are here to stay. Customers are shopping with sustainability in mind more than ever and calling out companies for greenwashing and unethical practices. With the prevalence and importance of prioritizing people and planet, what new trends are shaping up for green businesses in 2023?  The Report and Green…

In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to fight the climate crisis, grow domestic clean energy production, lower prescription drug costs, expand access to affordable health care coverage, and raise taxes on high-earning corporations—all to rebuild the US middle class for families, workers and businesses. Within this massive bill come numerous opportunities for small…

Shopping at small and local businesses is good for the circular economy and a best practice for supporting people and the planet. This is doubly true for businesses owned and operated by diverse leadership, especially those who have been kept from wealth accumulation. Patronizing Black-owned businesses for Black History Month—and beyond—is smart way to Vote with Your Dollar and uplift those who…

By: Joanne Dowdell (board member representative) and Fran Teplitz (staff member representative), co-chairs of Green America’s Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Team Green America Staff Contributors: Brooke Bennett, Anya Crittenden, Emma Kriss Black History Month February 2023 The national theme of this year’s Black History Month, Black Resistance, recognizes how Black…

It’s a new year—the Earth continues spinning, progress inches its way forward despite the deeply rooted challenges the world still faces, and it’s time to plan for the year ahead. For entrepreneurs, that means looking at business practices for as successful a new year as possible. One of the most important practices to pick up or strengthen is a commitment to sustainability and these green…

Greenwashing. You’ve heard the term before. A company and its products are “eco-friendly.” A business is on track to be “sustainable” by 2025. This strategy, greenwashing, is a way for companies to make unsubstantiated claims that their services, products, and/or processes are environmentally sound—i.e., not adding greenhouse gas emissions to the air, not leaving a massive carbon footprint, not…

As communities and activists around the world attempt to deal with the immense cost of the climate crisis from unprecedented flooding in Pakistan to the longest recorded heat wave in China to wildfires and the new “smoke season” in the American West, questions arise regarding how much individuals can effect change when what is needed is immense system change. At Fair Planet Advisors, we…

From the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego, Latin America is a region of the world with a multitude of traditions and cultures. Despite any differences in the clothes they wear, traditions they value, or daily life they experience, the majority of the region speaks the same language: Spanish. This is followed by Portuguese and hundreds of Indigenous languages, including Quechua, Mayan…