Invest for Climate Action

Invest for Climate Action

Invest for climate action

Every investor has the power to reduce their climate impacts through their investments. 

Your impact is surprisingly large. 

When most people consider their carbon footprint, they think about their electricity use, or travel by car, or the food they eat. These impacts are important and add up to around 7.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for each New Zealander. 

We can all take action to reduce our emissions by using electricity from renewable sources, cycling or taking public transport, reducing our consumption and waste, and going vegan. But what about the impact of your savings and investments?

Few people think about the climate footprint of their KiwiSaver fund or their other investments. Yet they are important. Your KiwiSaver invests mainly in companies, and they have very different impacts on the climate. We now have measures of the greenhouse gas emissions from most of the public companies (those listed on a share market) and so we can add up the emissions in our funds. For example, an average KiwiSaver fund invested in global shares has a footprint of around 2.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. That’s larger than most other elements of an individual’s carbon footprint.



The different ways that a KiwiSaver or investment fund manager can reduce the emissions in their portfolio:



Portfolio Construction

  • Avoid fossil fuel companies
  • Avoid companies and assets with high emissions
  • Switch to investments with lower emissions

Active Ownership

  • Engage with companies to reduce emissions
  • Vote on climate resolutions
  • Collaborate for more powerful action
Invest in Climate Solutions 
  • Invest in clean energy, EV's and zero emissions
  • Invest in carbon sequestration
  • Invest to catalyse emissions reductions


Want to learn more? Mindful Money’s seminar with Greenpeace and fund managers Mercer and Kernel Wealth talked about these different approaches. 


Watch Seminar


Net Zero Coalition 


Mindful Money has been working with New Zealand fund managers to encourage them to go further in their emissions reductions. 

We initiated the Aotearoa New Zealand Investor Coalition for Net Zero to bring organisations together to highlight the funds making pledges and support others to take deeper action to reduce their emissions.


Learn more