We're in the process of selling our home this week, coincidentally at the same time that our mortgage lender decided to sell our loan. This has caused dramatic and ridiculous consequences, and no end to my stress.

But even if we hadn't been in a high-drama situation, I would have been pissed off. The loan was sold to JPMorgan Chase — a top financier of fossil fuel investments. This is incredibly frustrating, because borrowers really don't have any say in who their lender is. Sure, you can choose who your loan originates with, but there's no guaranteeing that they won't sell that loan, leaving you to do business with an organization that doesn't align with your values.

When you put money in the bank, it doesn't just sit there. The bank invests it, using your money to make more money. And in a lot of cases, the things that they're investing their money in are things like oil, gas, weapons of war, or other things that you might not be ok with.

If you're looking to put your money someplace that does align with your values, you're likely going to lose something in the way of convenience. Most of the banks that you find on every corner in the U.S. are fossil fuel funders. Fun times.

However, on the bright side, some of the largest institutional investors are looking at sustainability criteria as a metric for long-term resilience. Now, I'm not pretending that investors like BlackRock Capital are the heroes in this story, but when an institution with more than $1 trillion in assets says that sustainability criteria matters, people listen.

Given that I'm surrounded by towers of cardboard boxes, packing tape, and the Sharpie marker that continually goes missing, I haven't been reading much this week.

Have you ever given much thought to soil health? I know that I hadn't before I became a Certified Master Gardener. This report from the World Economic Forum talks about soil depletion and food supply. After a few years in a desert environment, I find this type of thing incredibly fascinating. Also, p.s., we should do more listening to our Indigenous communities who already know how to make the most of challenging soil.

​"Now it is cheaper to save the planet than destroy it." The economic incentives are finally aligning with what we need.

​Institutional investors expect sustainable investing to grow over the next two years.​

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Consulting

​Reduce your Scope 3 emissions​

Alisa Bonsignore

Founder, Strategist, and Author