A Push for Change – why think green?
Whether reading the newspaper, watching television, shopping in the supermarket or planning your holiday, we are increasingly being reminded of how important green issues are and the many ways in which we can address them. In these days of high profile transnational consensus on concern for the environment such as the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations Environment Programme and various other multi-governmental agreements on tackling climate change and pollution, we cannot escape from the fact that the ecological future of the planet is truly a priority for us all.

Across the world initiatives are being implemented to reduce carbon emissions and lessen reliance on fossil fuels, as well as enhancing general sustainability by cutting consumption of natural resources and improving the proportion of goods recycled. As part of these initiatives many governments and organisations will offer incentives for green projects ranging from grants to tax breaks to higher prices paid for the products produced. Making ‘going green’ financially rewarding is really the only way to get both corporate and individual investors interested in making such a dramatic shift in focus, a fact not gone unnoticed by the private sector as clearly demonstrated by the growing market in carbon credit trading.

As the EU gains more member states that will need to ratify environmental legislation and China’s heavily industrialised economy opens up to the West and its existing environmental commitments, the market for renewable energy and development of carbon reducing technology would seem set for expansion. On an individual level many investors already choose to have entirely ethical portfolios, so the assurance that an investment is in fact benefiting the world would seem to have become highly desirable in recent years. From all angles environmentally friendly investment is full of potential, and with spiralling populations and concerns over the damage already done by global pollution the future for this new sector appears indefinite.

Our focus
Naturally we all feel the need to be ‘greener’ and develop a sustainable future for our children and generations to come. Yet it would be naïve to believe that these changes will be driven by conscience alone, these changes need to be driven by helping forward looking investors benefit from this dynamic shift to a better future. Keats exclusively focuses upon eco-friendly projects in which we can position our clients to benefit where it counts, on the bottom line.

Keats is currently evaluating 11 eco-friendly projects for release over the course of 2007. All of these fall broadly into two areas; renewable energy sources and zero / minimal carbon footprint housing. Keats has taken an innovative investment approach to both of these areas and which combine capital growth and income.

Currently the projects that we have identified are undergoing dude diligence and we expect to announce the successful projects within the coming months. We look forward to working with all of clients over the years to come delivering innovative, sustainable investments that bring solid opportunities for profit in both financial and environmental terms.