Moving Money to Meaning
Dr. Marta Ra, CEO from Paracelsus Recovery give a talk at TEDx Zurich
Let’s face it: If you’re like most people, you think money is dirty. Money has had a bad reputation for decades, if not centuries. It is accused of corrupting the character, of destroying entire families, of contributing to making the rich even richer and the poor even poorer… And the 2008 financial crisis only reinforced that sentiment.I am here today because I want to turn your perception upside down. And I want to show you that each of us has the power, with our own money, to take a step into the right direction.I know a little about that…For many years I was a client advisor and a relationship manager at banks across Europe. Very early on in my career, though, I had this strong inner conflict to “do good”.
I say “conflict” because I often felt that the industry, I had chosen did not provide enough opportunities to have a positive impact on society. As a teenager, I already dreamt of working at the United Nations or for an NGO. I became a young activist and joined Greenpeace and the WWF; I used to even skip school to attend their protests.I was looking for a way to connect two worlds that seemed incompatible: finance, on the one hand, and “doing good” on the other. That led me to a journey of discovering that it is possible to unite both worlds, and that there is a way to transform the financial industry so that it could benefit our society and our planet. We can do it by embracing …Sustainable capitalism.
What does it actually mean to invest sustainably? It can mean different things to different people. But the one criterion they all have in common is that the funds are used in a way that helps resolve concrete problems or challenges we face in the world today. One common approach is investing while excluding certain sectors, for example gambling, arms, nuclear energy, or countries that have the death penalty. Another approach is to look at it by impact.
Could the funds invested have a positive impact on the adoption of clean energy? Education? Health?
What about gender equality: Should the funds go to companies that have at least 50% of senior management in female positions? Or perhaps to smaller companies owned by women?You see, money is not all evil. It is actually an extremely powerful asset that can benefit our planet and society. And the same goes for the investor, as long as one simple principle is followed: move money to meaning. It is up to the investors to put money to good use and make a difference.And by investors, I mean you.Most people don’t think of themselves in that way, and yet you most probably are. Have you ever thought about your pension fund and how your contributions are invested? Are you aware of the stock market transactions made on your behalf by your health insurance company? Even if you are not a shareholder or an investor in the classic sense, the system works with your and my and everyone’s money.
And, perhaps without knowing it until now, you play a role in how this money is invested.Now you might think you are already doing your fair share to lead a sustainable life. Perhaps you only buy eco-friendly clothes, you’ve stopped eating meat or you only buy locally sourced products. Yes, these are important steps, but they are only a part of the equation — and there are many more powerful actions that you can take with your investments.The truth is, our consumer behavior only makes a small difference in comparison to what money can do. In the grand scheme of things, money has an impact 8 times higher than your personal consumption. How discouraging! But if you look at it in another way: You can make an impact that is exponentially more significant by investing.
My experience in the industry has taught me that many groups of people don’t feel empowered to take such a step and make that change. And one of these groups is women… as we know since money has traditionally been in the hands of men. This is why I co-founded “Women in Sustainable Finance”, an international network and platform to empower people to make a change in the way they invest. Not only did we aim to break the glass ceiling within the financial industry that has existed for many years and to dissolve the “gent`s club”. But we were convinced that empowerment was one of the key elements that lead people to take ownership and act on their convictions.Today, a big part of what we do is education.
We inspire and empower people to make informed decisions about the way they invest. We do this by raising awareness on alternative ways. But we are also lobbyists, speakers, panelists; we spread the word among decision makers who can drive change around sustainable capitalism and gender equality.One year later, the small idea we had for our network has become a reality — in ways we could have never ever imagined. The incredible demand from international companies, NGOs, foundations, private individuals and the many requests to open local chapters across the globe have proven to us that we’re on the right track.
We have realized that the wish to invest sustainably hasn`t been met.I invite you to reconsider your role as an investor who cares about our planet. How would you like to contribute?
First realize that you are an investor- directly and indirectly. This is the first step. The second step could be that you have a look at your investments. Ask some questions! Challenge your bank, your pension fund, your workplace… Ask where and how your contributions and savings are actually invested on your behalf!
This will hopefully lead you to the third step: you could invest a minimal sum in a sustainable cause you particularly care about. There are many possibilities. For example, you can use an online platform, and invest as little as 1,000 Swiss Francs in a sustainable way. Or just call your bank advisor, get an appointment, speak with them, and decide where you would like your money to go.How you invest your money matters and you, as an investor, matter too. Sustainable capitalism gives you the power to change the future of our society, our economy and our environment. Let’s bring meaning to money…. Because the power of money ….is the power of many.
From @tedx some impressions:
