Village Sustainability Newsletter January 2026

SUSTAINABILITY – WORKING TOWARDS THE COFE’S CARBON NEUTRAL TARGET 2030

Investments and Resolutions

Gosh, that’s a dull title.  But maybe that’s intriguing? – so read on!

Many of us attended the memorial service of a dear former village friend last month, and her death at a “way too soon” age and the beautiful tributes given by her friends and family at the service inspired many thoughts.

One of the comments made was that our friend really invested in her friendships, which brought me up in a personal way, and also made me think that however long our lives, we only get today’s opportunities to be the best person we can be.  I read recently that our “second life” begins when we realise we only have one, and there is a well-known poem by the Canadian Eva Rose York entitled “I shall not pass this way again” which explores similar themes. 

We all know to invest time and energy in our friendships and family relationships – and Christmas is often a great reminder of how much happiness is to be had in time spent with our loved ones, and how easy it is for that to get squeezed out in the busyness of regular daily life.  How many of us have wailed in a Christmas card “how has another year passed without us getting together?” 

Let’s commit to doing something about that this year.  Having recently met a lifelong friend I had not seen in nearly thirty years, I promise you that there can be huge joy in such efforts.  We can reconnect with those we have lost along the way, or work harder on our existing relationships, or reach out to the newly bereaved or the lonely in our circles and beyond.  Our lives and theirs may be richer for it.

Another thing we may be lucky enough to have as a choice is how we invest our money.  We have a real options here, and there is plenty “out there” to inform our choices.  We are all careful to look for the best returns and a level of security appropriate to our personal risk preference profile.  But do we always research how our funds will be invested?  The website Ethicalconsumer.org describes ethical investment thus: 

Investing ethically means selecting funds that don't invest your money in things like fossil fuels, weapons, gambling, tobacco and other unethical industries, but do invest your money in positive areas, such as renewable energy.

So there are many considerations when choosing an investment provider or bank, or checking those that you already use - to look out for greenwashing, when terms like “sustainability” can be used, and what a transparent ethical investment fund might look like. 

Questions to ask when choosing an investment provider:

  • Does it have a strong ethical policy?
  • Does the asset manager specialise in sustainable investing?
  • Does it have a sustainability label?
  • Does it invest in harmful companies and sectors?
  • Does it only disclose its top ten holdings? 

Third in this discussion of investment, and given this column is all about exploring how we can improve our behaviour towards the fragile earth we inhabit, and reverse the direction and speed of climate change, of course we need to continue to invest in the environment.  Whatever we do is not enough – and that is no reason NOT to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle but a challenge to do ever more, and better.  There are plenty of ways we can do it – reducing our plastic use, buying less stuff or choose preloved, making a non-fossil-fuel choice when making big household decisions.  Get yourself more informed and take some action!

This is a beautiful planet and those who follow us after our lifetimes (be they long or short) as well as those who are currently in parts of the world vulnerable and already affected by climate change, deserve all our efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and stop the harm done to biodiversity, oceans, forests and the rest.

You can probably work out what comes next.  Your input!

My New Year’s Resolutions:

1. I will invest in my relationships by ……………………………………………

2. I will investigate where I can bank/invest my money more sustainably by……………………………………………………………..

3. I will change my daily behaviour/lifestyle by ……………….……………

Our lifetimes are short and precious.  Let’s be the best versions of ourselves we can. 

My very best wishes for a happy, healthy and sustainable New Year.

Julia Hoaen