Even before BP's multibillion oil leak gushed into the Gulf of Mexico this year, savers were moving millions of pounds in savings and pensions towards green companies committed to protecting the environment.
That's the claim of National Ethical Investment Week (November 7-13), which says our total ethical savings and investments surged more than by 30% in the past year alone - up from £14.3 billion to £19.2 billion.
Penny Shepherd, chief executive at UKSIF, the sustainable investment and finance association, says: "After a decade that almost ended in global financial meltdown, attitudes are changing from greed is good to green is good - less Gekko, more eco."
"The 2010s are set to become the decade of financial responsibility, as more people try to make a difference with their money."
Ethical funds were also boosted because they escaped much of the fallout from the global crash of 2008. They are lightly exposed, for instance, to the banking sector.
However, green funds still account for only a tiny part of total savings. Around £542 billion is held in UK-authorised unit trusts and open-ended investment companies and the average UK household has £750 savings in ethical funds and savings accounts.
But, Sue Round from Ecclesiastical Investment Management maintains: "We have long known the benefits of ethical investing for clients, and ethical funds compete for the top spots in fund ranking tables overall."
"We have seen the sector undergo real transformation towards being seen as mainstream in recent years and we expect this trend to continue."
Unless savers are keen students of financial markets, however, they might struggle to find a suitable ethical product.
Discount brokers - usually the cheapest way to invest for savers who know the fund they want to buy - have promoted South America and emerging markets more strongly this year.
Paul Penny from Financial Discounts Direct says: "Investors want either income or growth, which is more likely in emerging markets. Ethical funds are not strong on either aspect."
Defining a green fund gets tricky too.
Danny Cox from financial advisor Hargreaves Lansdown says: "Climate change funds are not green. They are likely to invest in a range of themes from solar and wind power to agriculture and hybrid cars."
"Green funds differ from a themed fund such as this as they adopt both positive and negative screening to ensure their ethical status. Climate change is a theme which requires a long-term view, albeit the performance has been lacklustre recently."
Ashley Clark from NeedAnAdvisor.com says: "Having 'ethical' or 'green' in a fund name may mean very little. Be mindful of so-called 'light green' compared to 'dark green' funds."
"Dark green funds usually mean they have high levels of screening where they positively exclude investing in certain areas such as tobacco, arms or pornography and positively discriminate to invest in energy efficiency technology or organic farming and the like."
Investors who need to know their money is doing good, however, can usually find something suitable.
Let's start with building society accounts: a cash ISA with Ecology Building Society pays 1.7% on a minimum £25 investment, and your money might help somebody to restore a water mill or a tumbledown cottage as their home.
Top ISA rates, though, are around 2.75% with several providers including Nationwide BS.
Next, managed funds: the Investment Management Association (IMA) lists around 100 retail green and ethical investment funds, with sustainable investments making up about 11% of the portfolios of high net worth individuals.
Corporate bonds, which generate steady income collected tax-free within an ISA wrapper, appeal to cautious investors.
Several corporate bond funds will hold only bonds which satisfy an ethical screening - including the F&C Ethical Bond Fund, up 22.5% since its launch in October 2007 and worth £136 million today.
Others include Standard Life Ethical Corporate Bond and Aegon Ethical Corporate Bond fund, tipped by Patrick Connolly at financial advisor Chase de Vere - but neither are among top performers listed by bond specialist Dennehy Weller.
When it comes to managed funds for savers, Friends Provident has dominated the sector since launching its Stewardship funds in 1984 which invest only in companies which meet certain criteria and make a positive contribution to society.
Various funds in the Stewardship series, including some held entirely in private pensions, hold more than £3 billion, but Friends Provident advises all savers to consult a financial advisor before they invest.
Impax, a new star in the ethical sector, has two funds worth watching: Impax Environmental Markets, and Impax Asian Environmental Markets, which raised a further £131 million from investors last month following its original £104.5 million launch in October 2009.
Rather lower profile is the Amity International Fund which nearly doubled in size to £116 million in the last year. Since its launch in 1999, the unit price has climbed from £1 to £1.93.
It's part of Ecclesiastical Investment Management, which has arranged insurance for the Anglican Church since 1887.
Ketan Patel of Ecclesiastical says: "The Amity Fund has focussed on Asia and Europe in sectors like telecoms, utilities, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and even old-fashioned engineering."
"We also have infrastructure holdings in the Far East, China, India Brazil. Hong Kong gives us a natural stepping stone into Chinese markets, and its well-governed market is like investing in London and New York."
An ethical stance means Amity can't touch mining - which it sees as "particularly dangerous" for workers in China - oil, defence, aerospace, tobacco and gambling.
Another potential sector of green investing, highlighted by The Share Centre for clients this month, is agribusiness, an industry that is involved in boosting food production as the world's population looks set to climbs from 5.2 billion in 1990 to 8.2 billion in 2030.
That sounds like a no-brainer, but timing can be tricky. For instance, The Share Centre currently tips three funds in agribusiness: Baring Global Agriculture, First State Global Agribusiness and CF Eclectica Agriculture.
However, Hargreaves Lansdown has struck Eclectica Agriculture, launched in June 2007 under the management of Hugh Hendry, a hedge fund star, off its top Wealth 150 list.
Hargreaves Lansdown says the fund has invested in farming inputs, such as fertiliser companies and others involved in the production and harvesting of crops, but had it had gone for businesses upstream in the food chain like supermarkets it would have done better.
It's a reminder that good intentions are not always enough in ethical investing - and that even the experts don't always agree.
:: Information: The Share Centre 01296 414 141 and www.thesharecentre.co.uk; Amity International Fund 0845 777 3322 and www.ecclesiastical.com/investments; Hargreaves Lansdown 0117 900 9000 and www.h-l.co.uk.
National Ethical Week www.neiw.org; UKSIF www.uksif.or); Financial advisors are listed by unbiased.co.uk.
Poundnotes
:: There was a big 42% spike in remortgage enquiries during October, says Drew Wotherspoon at leading broker John Charcol.
He thinks borrowers on standard variable rate loans are thinking of locking in a new deal before rates rise.
"If we stay in a low rate environment for several more years, as many think we will, moving to a fixed rate now will rove costly in the long-run," he says.
"However, should we be taken by surprise and rates move upward sharply, fixing soon would be a wise move."
This weekend, First Direct, HSBC's online subsidiary, could shake up the remortgage market for small and medium-sized borrowers with a new range of fixes offering flexibility on both the rate and the fee.
The choice between low fee/higher rate and higher fee/low rate depends on mortgage size. A remortgager borrowing £100,000 is better off with the 2.99% rate/£99 fee as this saves £529 over two years, but somebody borrowing £300,000 is better off with the 2.69% rate/£999 fee, saving £212 over two years.
:: Debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) says more people calling its helpline are sleeping on the sofa of a friend or family member after losing their rented home or getting their own home repossessed.
CCCS has counselled almost 15,000 people with mortgage arrears and 6,820 with rental arrears this year.
Laura Carver, head of helpline at CCCS, says: "Sleeping on a friend's sofa is better than sleeping outside, but anyone in this situation should get help as a range of charities helps with debt and accommodation issues."
Information: The CCCS helpline is 0800 138 1111 and is open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. CCCS Debt Remedy is at www.cccs.co.uk.
:: At current inflation levels, says Kevin Mountford at moneysupermarket.com, basic rate taxpayers need to earn 3.8% on their savings to avoid losing money, while higher rate taxpayers need 5.17%.
Although not quite up to those levels, two new products are better than most: Skipton BS offers 3.30% on a new limited edition online bond, while a new Poppy Bond from Coventry BS pays 3.11% gross fixed until December 31, 2011. Both require a minimum £500 balance.
:: Cheeky blighters! While 160,000 members of Kent Reliance BS are being urged to vote for a tie-up with US private equity firm JC Flowers or face the bleak alternative of a takeover, Saffron Building Society is proudly blowing its trumpet as "a regional building society serving East Anglia".
Saffron BS sales and marketing director John Eastgate says members are continuing to plough in their money - notably in the online saver and Goal Saver accounts which offer a lifetime rate guarantee - while a £500 cashback is persuading homebuyers seeking a mortgage to approach the society direct.
Thriving Saffron BS has 12 branches and seven agency outlets. As a long-term investor with Kent Reliance BS, I have to confess its branches can be quite difficult to track down.
:: High five savers
Phone No Rate Account Period Deposit Interest paid
SAGA www.saga.co.uk 4.50% (F) Fixed Rate Savings Five Year Bond £1 Yly
United Trust Bank 0207 190 5555 4.50% Fixed Deposit Five Year Bond (P) £500 Yly
Manchester BS 0161 923 8015 2.91% Premier Notice Issue 16 60 Days £1,000 Yly
Stroud & Swindon BS 08457 252423 2.90% 90 Day Notice 90 Days £1,000 Yly
Santander 0800 234 6065 2.85% Flexible ISA Issue 3 Instant £1 Yly
:: Top five borrowers
Phone No Rate Period Max% Adv Fee Incentive
HSBC 0800 494999 2.29% for term 60% £99 Yes
First Direct 0845 610 0100 2.59% variable for term 65% £99 Yes
ING Direct 0845 603 8888 2.85% disc until 30/11/12 70% none Yes
Furness BS 0800 220 568 3.29% (F) for three years 80% none Yes
Market Harboro BS 01858 412250 3.45% for term 80% £495 Yes
Code:
*K- Operated by Internet, Telephone, or Post
*F - Fixed
*P - Operated by Post
*B - Operated by Post/Telephone
*T - Operated by Telephone
*W - Operated by Internet
*H - Operated by Internet/Telephone
*S - Available only to those aged 50 or over
*R - Available to those aged 60 and over.
:: Source: Money£acts - Tel: 01603 476 476 (All rates subject to change without notice).
