The Vancouver City Credit Union (Vancity) has introduced Canada’s first fossil fuel-free mutual fund.
Dermot Foley of Vancity Investment Management “said it’s probably a good time for the fund to unload its fossil-fuel investments because they carry more risk, largely due to the dramatic fall in world oil prices,” the Vancouver Sun reports.
“Our members have been asking for something like this for a while now,” Vancity COO Rick Sielski told the Sun. “It’s a convergence around what makes sense from a risk/return investment for our members while satisfying their need to really put their money where their heart and values are.”
The fund includes household names like Apple, Starbucks, Google, and MasterCard. Rail companies are in, even though they transport fossil fuels, because they represent a more energy-efficient mode of travel, Foley explained. Toyota made the list, despite being one of the world’s largest automakers, because “they’re also the largest producer of hybrid vehicles and that’s one of the solutions to climate change—producing a much more energy-efficient car.”
