Carbon neutral vs. Net-zero emissions
Green is such a vibrant color, signifying life. The word for green in Spanish is “verde,” a word that relates to verity, meaning truth.
I love investing in founders who are trying to have a positive impact on the world, and companies that think long-term always catch my attention. I appreciate that Poshmark keeps clothing from landfills. I appreciate that Airbnb encourages hosts to reduce single-use products.
We’re all hearing a lot about going green, and there are lots of ways to reuse and recycle, but sometimes what looks “green” to one person looks different to another.
These days, the term “greenwashing” is being used to describe companies who understand the marketing value of creating a smaller carbon footprint but really don’t have any serious plans to change policy. For example, you may hear someone say they plan to be net-zero emissions, but then you find out the target date is twenty years out.
This morning, I received an e-mail blast from a company stating that “Standardized climate reporting through the Fed and SEC will likely make it harder for companies to fudge their environmental impact. U.S. officials say better reporting will drive more capital to greener industries, and help countries reach net-zero emissions.”
I’m all for reporting, as long as the terminology is the same across the board. Becoming “carbon neutral” does not mean that a company isn’t putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere anymore; it just means that what they do put into the atmosphere has been balanced out by purchasing renewable energy (like solar panels), bringing the theoretical “balance sheet” to zero.
Actually removing carbon from the atmosphere matters going forward, and any reporting that keeps compliance easy is going to be more successful. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: plant trees.
In the meantime, invest in companies that you have researched and be patient as they work to address climate change issues.
Patient investing pays off. Since the last 28 months, I’ve had the following 12 IPOs:
$HLTH
$ASTR
$HOOD
$ABNB
$DPCM
$SKIN
$DIDI
$HIMS
$POSH
$DKNG
$WORK
$UBER
