Crowdfunding can be a fun way to try to grow your money – and if you pick the right projects to invest in, it can help to tackle climate change too.
Just remember that crowdfunding can also come with some unique risks. So if you like the look of any of the below, read the Offer Documents that come with them.
Here are our top four climate-friendly crowdfunds that you can invest in right now:
Climate-focused investing – Clim8
Clim8 is a climate investment app that enables you to make a positive impact on the planet by investing in real climate solutions while also targeting competitive returns.
All of its portfolios are aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rises to under 2C by 2050. This is no small thing when compared to the world’s biggest conventional funds, which Clim8 found are contributing to a devastating 4.4C rise.
Clim8 has now launched a crowdfunding campaign offering investors the chance to buy equity in the company itself. It’s looking to raise at least £1 million, which it will use to grow the Clim8 team, spread the word to more customers and launch new products including Junior ISAs and pensions.
Clim8 has previously raised £12 million in venture capital, including a £2 million investment from Channel 4 Ventures.
How can I invest?
The crowdfund is available now on Crowdcube. Minimum investment is £88.71 for one share.
Disclaimer: With investing, your capital at risk. Investments of this nature carry risks to your capital,
please invest aware. The campaign is run and managed by Crowdcube Capital Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 650205). For more detail on the risks involved in investing in start-ups like Clim8, please see here.
Edit: In March 2023, Clim8 announced that it is closing down. It will no longer be taking on new customers and will be available to existing customers until May 2023.
Clean energy – Thrive Renewables
Thrive Renewables, a Good With Money ‘Good Egg’ firm, has been working towards a clean energy system in the UK for nearly 30 years. Its latest crowdfunding offer aims to raise at least £5 million to scale up its pipeline of renewable electricity generation and battery storage projects.
It comes at a crucial time for the UK as a fourfold increase in electricity capacity is needed to meet its net zero target.
Recent projects Thrive Renewables has invested in include England’s tallest onshore wind turbine in partnership with Ambition Community Energy, a 20MW battery project in Bristol and the UK’s first commercial deep geothermal electricity generation plant in Cornwall.
The company has also recently built a 5MW battery storage facility near Milton Keynes and funded the installation of a number of commercial solar rooftop installations.
How can I invest?
The share offer is available through Triodos Bank UK’s crowdfunding platform. Minimum investment is £94 (40 shares) and shares can be held in a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). The company is targeting five to eight per cent return per year through a combination of dividends and increasing share value.
Top 4 positive impact crowdfunding sites
Electric vehicles – EVC
Electric vehicle (EV) charging specialist EVC makes it simple and free for businesses to host reliable, user-friendly public electric vehicle chargers.
To support the rapid growth in electric vehicles, the number of public EV chargers needs to increase from around 50,000 today to 400,000 by 2030. To help make this happen, it needs to be much easier for businesses and developers to install chargers at their premises.
EVC is tackling this challenge by installing and managing EV chargers at no cost to the sites that host them, removing a major barrier for businesses that want to support the electric switch over.
EVC aims to install 100,000 chargers over the next five years. The company has already secured around 170 sites, with the potential to host more than 1,900 charge points. A further 300-plus sites are expected to be contracted by the end of 2022.
How can I invest?
Solar power and education – Solar for Schools
Solar for Schools is a pioneering solar energy organisation that works with schools and local communities to provide decarbonisation and energy education powered by the sun. It is looking to raise £1 million to install solar systems on 20-30 more schools so they can save money on energy bills and inspire nearly 8,000 students.
The systems help to tackle climate change by cutting schools’ carbon emissions and move them closer to reaching net zero. Students also get to experience solar power first hand, helping them to understand the challenges society faces and inspiring them to learn more and take positive action.
Every £50,000 invested into Solar for Schools used for new projects saves around 250 tonnes of CO₂ over the lifetime of the panels, about the same as not flying to Australia and back 12 times.
How can I invest?
The unsecured, inflation-linked bond offer is available through Ethex. It targets a return of two per cent plus inflation (min two per cent, max five per cent). The investment is eligible to be held within a tax-free IFISA.
Risk warning: As with all investments, returns are not guaranteed, and investors may not get back all, or any, of their original investment.
