- Ethical finance is a different way of saving and investing that combines economic benefits with social and environmental benefits.
What is ethical finance?
Ethical finance is a different way of saving and investing that combines economic benefits with social and environmental benefits. It is a transversal concept, since ethical criteria and principles must be incorporated in all activities with which ethical entities are related.
They are also those that make economic and financial profitability compatible with the achievement of social and environmental objectives. It is about incorporating ethics into financing, capturing the savings of individuals and directing it towards the financing of entities and companies, all with ethical, social and environmental criteria.
For ethical entities, speculative behaviors are prohibited and their investments focus on the real and solidarity economy. They focus on investments with a positive effect for people, with social and sustainable development benefits.
Its origin
Ethical finance is a consequence of alternative economy movements that seek a real economy and activities with a positive social and environmental impact.
A type of sustainable finance was developed that, until some time ago, was a minority and little known. Today, ethical finance is a globalized financial trend.
Objectives
Ethical finance pursues two objectives in parallel:
- Be economically profitable.
- Obtain social and environmental benefits by financing economic activities with a positive social and environmental impact.
In short, they work to maximize social benefit, their only objective not being economic benefit.
Beginning
These are its principles:
- Transparency
- Coherence
- Ethics
- Implication
- Stake
- real economy
- Sustainability
- Social profitability
- Efficiency
- Long-term relationship with clients
In short, and according to ethical finance, the economy must be at the service of society. Therefore, economic decision-making must put the well-being of people, the community and the planet at the center (people, planet, profit).