More than EnviroStats!

Please do NOT take this as investing advice, just FYI sort of information! [Envirostats author]

For those of you investing sustainably, the 2007 SB20 offers 20 choices you may want to consider:

• Best Water Technology (Vienna: BWT.VI) (Austria);
• Canon (NYSE: CAJ) (Japan);
• Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) (USA);
• Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) (USA);
• First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) (USA);
• Fuel Tech (Nasdaq: FTEK) (USA);
• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) (USA);
• Groupe Danone (Paris: DN.PA) (France);
• Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR) (USA);
• Interface (Nasdaq: IFSIA) (USA);
• Land Securities (London: Land.L) (UK);
• NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) (USA);
• Novozymes (Copenhagen: NZYM.CO) (Denmark);
• Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) (USA);
• Precious Woods (Geneva: SWX: PRWN) (Switzerland);
• Renewable Energy Corp - REC (Oslo: REC.OL) (Norway);
• Royal Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) (Netherlands);
• Schmack Biogas AG (Frankfurt: SB1) (Germany);
• Vestas (Copenhagen: VWS.CO) (Denmark);
• Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI) (USA).

Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) received Honorable Mention.

Greenpeace also just came out with the fifth edition of its quarterly list ranking 14 top manufacturers of personal computers and mobile phones according to their policies and practice on toxic chemicals and recycling. Responsible investors may also want to consider that list, although with a common sense word of caution that while a green company is a good investment ethically, pending on what else it’s doing with its business, it might not be a good investment. However, the names mentioned were pretty well known and generally perceived to be successful.

Overall, there has been improvement with the companies scored by Greenpeace so there is general progress, though there is much room for improvement. Its first version in Aug 2006 had an average score of 4/10 while now everyone is above 5/10.

• Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Dell led the way, with Chinese Lenovo close behind in fourth.
• Sony and LG Enterprises were the biggest movers up the chart.
• HP continued to fall and now was tied with Apple for second last of 14.
• Panasonic dwelled at the bottom.

As of Sep 2007, there were 9.3 million households in the United States — about one of every 12 — with a net worth of at least $1 million, writes Financial Planning magazine, citing figures compiled by the Phoenix Companies and TNS Financial Services. Net worth here is defined oddly: It is the value of all assets a household owns, minus debts and the value of the primary residence. But while the primary residence is not counted, a second home and other real estate is. Traditionally, when financial planners talk about high-net-worth individuals, they mean people with at least $1 million in assets to invest. The numbers here are impressive as well. 

Of the 114 million houses in the U.S., roughly 109 million, or 95%, have less than $1 million in investable assets: but there are about five million households with $1 million to $10 million to invest; 200,000 households with $10 million to $25 million to invest and another 40,000 designated ultra-high net worth, who have more than $25 million in investable assets. – Elizabeth O’Brien

For Canadian readers reading this and wanting to stay patriotic, a top 15 green tech firms list was available by Deloitte & Touche:

6N ilicon Inc. — Mississauga, Ont. — Solar-grade silicon supplier
Azure Dynamics Inc. — Toronto — Hybrid electric components
Distech Controls Inc. — Brossard, Que. — Green building automation systems
Enviro Tower — Toronto — Green water treatment
GEEP Inc. — Barrie, Ont. — Electronics recycling
Optimal Technologies — Calgary — Network optimization technology
Plutonic Power Corp. — Vancouver — Green energy
QuestAir Technologies Inc. — Burnaby, B.C. — Gas purification systems
REGEN Energy Inc. — Toronto — Electricity load controllers
Sempa Power Systems Ltd. — West Vancouver, B.C. — Energy management solutions
Smartcool Systems Inc. — Vancouver — Energy savings solutions
Sustainable Energy — Calgary — Power conversion products
VRB Power Systems Inc. — Vancouver — Energy storage systems
Westport Innovations Inc. — Vancouver — Fuel-efficient engines
Xantrex Technology Inc. — Burnaby, B.C. — Advanced power electronics

Naturally, I was disappointed to see no Canadian companies in the SB20 nor Nova Scotian companies in the Top 15 Canadian firms, although that doesn’t mean there aren’t some excellent and very sustainable Canadian and Nova Scotian businesses in which you might want to invest. [Envirostats author]

- SB20 List via Environmental News Network, Sep 20 2007

- Top 15 Green Tech List via Globe & Mail, Sep 20 2007

- Greenpeace Greener Electronics Guide Version 5, Sep 19 2007

- American “millionaire” demographics added later via The New York Times, Oct 20 2007