One guideline is the EU Taxonomy Regulation (EU 2020/852). This sets out science-based criteria that economic activities must meet in order to be considered sustainable. However, these criteria do not necessarily coincide with personal criteria for environmentally friendly, sustainable, and fair behavior. It is therefore always worth taking a close look at the banking product you are considering.

Almost all forms of investment are also available as sustainable financial products: whether safe or high-risk, simple or complex, with short or long terms. Even when applying sustainability criteria, the financial product that best suits your particular life and financial situation will always depend on the three investment strategies of liquidity, security, and return. The consumer advice centers have compiled a current overview of all sustainable banking products, from checking accounts to investment funds, on their website "Geld-bewegt" (Money Moves). You can find the corresponding link below in our list of links.

Everyone needs a checking account. It is a simple and risk-free way to get started with sustainable investing, but also a calling card for a sustainable lifestyle. Because no matter where we pay with our debit card, it always shows who we entrust our money to and what values are important to us. A sustainable checking account usually offers the same services as a normal one. There are no restrictions on credit cards, online banking, or cash withdrawals, which at ethical and ecological banks are usually made via the cooperative banks' ATM network. The only compromise that has to be made is in terms of branches, especially at specialized banks.

An article published by the German Federal Environment Agency states that savings products are the right form of investment for money that is needed for security, as a reserve, spontaneously, or at a fixed point in time in a fixed amount. Although these have weaker return prospects than high-risk investments, they offer maximum security. If ethical and ecological criteria are important to you, you should choose a so-called "green" bank, as the desired criteria are already taken into account in the bank's investment policy. However, conventional banks also offer savings products that have additional benefits for environmental and climate protection. It is worth asking your local bank for specific information. An ecologically oriented bank takes a lot of the complexity out of assessing financial investments.

If you want to not only save your money but also grow it, there's no way around investing it. Here, too, there are a variety of environmentally friendly and sustainable investment options available. Unlike sustainable savings products, however, green, sustainable investments, funds, and other securities offer more opportunities to directly influence the desired environmental and climate protection effects.

To simplify matters, investments can be divided into two categories: funds and direct investments. Funds spread the risk by combining a large number of investments. Direct investments, on the other hand, are limited to individual companies (shares) and projects such as energy cooperatives, wind farms, or forest investments. They make it possible to determine very specifically what happens with the money invested. In return, the return is also directly dependent on the success of the respective project.

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer as to which investments are green and sustainable and what environmental and social benefits they have. When selecting funds, you can, for example, look for the mention of PAB (Paris-aligned Benchmark) or CTB (Climate Transition Benchmark) in the name of the fund. Such funds pursue an investment strategy that aims for climate neutrality by 2050 in the investment objects. However, there are other logos and seals for sustainable investments, which you can find in the article linked below from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Consumers should find out as much as possible in advance about the climate protection and sustainability criteria that are applied and the industries or companies in which investments are made. For example, a "climate-friendly" rating does not necessarily mean that the environment is also protected.

Private funds are important for climate protection and sustainability because they finance relevant projects. These can include, for example, the expansion of renewable energies, but also energy-efficient buildings, climate-friendly mobility, or organic farming. Sustainable investments are what make environmentally friendly business practices possible in the first place. The impact of green, sustainable investments can vary greatly from case to case. It is up to you to decide which banks and banking products you support. You can find specific information in the links below.