Make My Money Matter
Hi, I’m Henna and I’m campaign manager at Make My Money Matter, a new campaign to make our money build a better world.
I got involved when I learnt more about the incredible power that finance has in our world, and how it impacts on every single aspect of our daily lives. In my spare time, I’m also a political campaigner and anti-racist organiser – trying to make our system better with everything I do!
Many of us are making significant changes to our lifestyles to make them more sustainable – from using metal straws and public transport, to going vegan and holidaying in the UK. But the truth is, while we’re changing how we live to protect the planet, we could be harming the planet through our finances.
In fact, 90% of people in the UK are likely to be invested in things like fossil fuels through their pensions. So, while we’re ditching burgers for beansprouts and Tahiti for Totnes, our investments could be undermining everything we’re trying to achieve. That’s why we’ve started Make My Money Matter, a people-powered campaign calling for the trillions of pounds invested in our pensions to build a better world.
And the impact our pensions have is HUGE. Analysis by a Scandinavian firm found that moving your money to a more sustainable fund is up to 27 times more powerful at cutting your carbon footprint than eating less meat, using public transport, reducing water use, and flying less combined. That’s a huge difference you could make to the world just by investing for your retirement in a more sustainable way.
Saving for your retirement in a way that protects the planet doesn’t mean you need to compromise on returns either. The ethical fund offered by Nest, the UK’s largest pension provider, has been its highest performing fund over the past five years, and the movement to tackle the climate crisis and build a better world means that sustainable companies are likely to continue to grow.
This isn’t just about your own pension though. If you can switch your pension to a sustainable option – great – but the truth is lots of people are in schemes that don’t offer high quality sustainable options, enrolled through employers that aren’t taking action on this issue, or simply don’t know enough about how their pension is invested.
The pensions industry needs to communicate with savers better and listen to their views.
They need to measure the impact of their investments on people and planet and use their role as shareholders to push companies to do better. Most urgently, they need to make sure ALL of their funds are aligned with the Paris Agreement - going Net Zero by 2050 and halving emissions by 2030. The climate crisis is not an ethical concern, it is an existential risk to our world.
So, what can you do?
You can find out if you have a Net Zero pension here, and take action by contacting your provider. Member communications are really important to pension funds, and getting in touch with them is really effective.
You can speak to your employer about your pension. Is your workplace pension in line with your company values? Do you get information about your pension and how it is invested when you join?
You can spread the word! Most people don’t talk about their pensions – to make our money matter we need to change that. Something to bring up at socially distanced gatherings, dinners and other events. I’m sure your friends and family will love you for it!
Where can you find out more?
Watch this brilliant TED talk by Dr Bronwyn King about how she started Tobacco-Free portfolios and her journey with sustainable pensions.
Listen to The Guilty Feminist podcast on Making Money Matter for Feminism Watch Richard Curtis speak to Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac on the Outrage and Optimism podcast