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BACKGROUND:

As a relatively new staffing agency, we knew that we needed a viable 401(k) investment opportunity for our employees to contribute to. As a climate-focused firm, we wanted to ensure that these investments backed the work that we do on a daily basis.

Alongside our commitment to sustainability, our goal is to provide our employees and potential new hires with retirement options that they feel good about.

After doing some research on GreenBiz, we discovered:

• A Natixis survey shows 74 percent of plan participants want access to ESG funds in their retirement savings plan.
• A 2017 survey by NAPA also found that 67 percent of employees who do not participate in their 401(k) plans would choose to do so if they had access to an SRI-oriented portfolio.
• Additionally, 60 percent of surveyed participants said that they would increase their contribution rate if they knew their investments were benefitting the "social good.”

“What we have found is that companies like Climate People often find themselves in a bit of a conundrum,” Zach Stein, the CoFounder of Carbon Collective, said. “You want to offer a 401(k) but if you go with a traditional option, the only portfolios that will be offered are ones that track the market. What we do is we come in and we provide options, we don’t force people to invest green.”

APPROACH:

Embodying Zach and Carbon Collective’s slogan “invest in the future you want to retire into“ we opened Climate People’s 401(k) account with them.

”We help companies that have sustainable missions like Climate People’s to make sure that they have options for a 401(k) that aligns with, instead of conflicts with that mission,” Zach said.

The team at Climate People works tirelessly to reverse the harms of climate change through our every-day work. We are thrilled to partner with Carbon Collective because they give us the opportunity to ‘put our money where our mouth is’ and invest in a future that directly aligns with our sustainability initiatives.

”So the science is really clear with this, it’s not charity,” Zach said. “Sustainable investing is investing in companies and sectors that are very fast growing, like electric cars, solar, wind, and batteries, because they're just better technologies. We think overall it's a real win.”

RESULT

When we step back and take a look at our individual role in fighting the climate crisis, it can be quite overwhelming. Decision fatigue is ~real.~

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Zach recommends starting with the big pieces of your life — things like your job and finances.

Once you tackle these weightier decisions, the rest of the pieces kind of just fall into place.

”Once you pick it up and do it, then you're just doing it. Your money is invested, you've changed your bank, your car is now electric, and your job is now focused on climate,” Zach said. “Now you're just going to work and it doesn’t require any more decisions and that can be really impactful.”

Once you dip your toes in the climate space, so many doors open up. There are countless individual actions that can truly make a difference.

We’re thrilled to work alongside the incredible team at Carbon Collective to practice what we preach and ultimately “Save today, save tomorrow.”

Learn more at carboncollective.com.