Sustainable and responsible investing, or SRI, is a rapidly growing strategy -- and when framed in moral terms (as an attempt to integrate one's personal ethos into financial choices) it's a topic that generates strong debate.
Ultimately, SRI is simply another investment strategy. Having said that, people's angry resistance to ethical considerations in business is odd.
If you wouldn't set Bangladeshi laborers on fire to make a buck, why wouldn't you consider labor conditions at foreign suppliers when analyzing an investment in J.C. Penney (JCPN.Q)? On the flip side, why shouldn't you decide to take a look at SolarCity (SCTY.DL) because you care about the environment and believe strongly in renewable energy?
Such considerations should not be the end of your analysis -- but they are a perfectly good starting point as you search for stocks.
Should morality drive your investment decisions?
The Motley Fool recently hosted a Climate Change summit for investors, where the topic of morality and SRI was discussed. Watch this video to hear more.
