The authors find that from an international perspective, there is strong evidence that green investments are significantly different from SRI investments in terms of financial performance and underlying firm characteristics. Green equities outperformed SRI equities between 2003 and 2007, whereas they underperformed between 2008 and 2012 with absolute multi-factor alphas of more than 1 per cent per month in both directions. Green portfolios mainly contain stocks of low quality with weak business models that are highly capital-demanding but unprofitable, whereas SRI portfolios are principally characterized by stocks with well-conceived and profitable business models. The authors suggest that green investments can be considered as a sector bet on the renewable energy industry shaped by massive governmental subsidies during the mid-2000s.
This book is aimed at practitioners, students and scholars in architecture, urban planning and design. It features essays on ecologically sustainable cities by leading exponents of urban sustainability, case studies of the new directions low carbon cities might take and investigations of how we can mitigate urban heat stress in our cities’ microclimates. The book explores the underlying dimensions of how existing cities can be transformed into low carbon urban systems and describes the design of low carbon cities in theory and practice. It considers the connections between low carbon cities and sustainable design, social and individual values, public space, housing affordability, public transport and urban microclimates. Given the rapid urbanisation underway globally, and the need for all our cities to operate more sustainably, the book argues for the need to think about how spatial planning and design can help transform urban systems to create low carbon cities.
This report recommends actions by the public and private sectors to foster the growing market for SMEs in the clean technology sector.
Acknowledging the environmental and economic potential of green entrepreneurship, and recognizing the daunting challenges clean technology SMEs are facing, particularly in accessing early and growth stage financing, the report provides policymakers with a range of practical instruments that help support SMEs in clean technology sectors such as innovative finance, entrepreneurship and business acceleration, market development, technology development, and the legal and regulatory framework. These policy considerations are illustrated through case studies of national programs in South Korea, India, Thailand, and Ethiopia.
The report also highlights clean technology market opportunities that can have large social impact and the benefit of promoting clean technology jobs.
The emerging concept of Green Jobs has yet to be clearly defined. This study uses critical discourse analysis and framing theory to analyse the meaning of Green Jobs claims, and their representation and transformation. Based on an analysis of print media from 1999 to 2009 and supporting policy documents, five predominant frames were identified in Green Jobs discourse: Environment–Economy Bridge, Green Entrepreneurship, Nascent Industry Creation, Internal Industry Transformation, and Structural Adjustment. Coverage of Green Jobs discourse has sharply increased since 2008. Although the term remains loosely defined and is employed in multiple ways, it is predominantly used as a strategic link between the recession and climate change policy. The fractured framing used in Green Jobs discourse hinders its uptake as a meaningful concept informing job creation, greening of industry, and sustainable development policy. Media, policymakers and advocacy groups should clarify the underlying definition when using the term.
The ‘attitude–behaviour gap’ or ‘values–action gap’ is where 30% of consumers report that they are very concerned about environmental issues but they are struggling to translate this into purchases. For example, the market share for ethical foods remains at 5 per cent of sales. This paper investigates the purchasing process for green consumers in relation to consumer technology products in the UK. Data were collected from 81 self-declared green consumers through in depth interviews on recent purchases of technology products. A green consumer purchasing model and success criteria for closing the gap between green consumers' values and their behaviour are developed. The paper concludes that incentives and single issue labels (like the current energy rating label) would help consumers concentrate their limited efforts. More fundamentally, ‘being green’ needs time and space in people's lives that is not available in increasingly busy lifestyles. Implications for policy and business are proposed.