Environmental Leader

Virgin Money is launching a green fund which will invest only in companies committed to high environmental standards. To launch Virgin Climate Change Fund, Virgin teamed up with GLG Partners, who will act as fund advisors, and Trucost PLC, who will provide environmental data. “Consumers are changing the way they spend and are increasingly looking for more environmentally friendly ways of investing their money,” said Richard Branson.

According to research from Virgin Money, 29 percent of consumers prefer products and services from environmentally-friendly companies, and 68 percent said if data were available on a company’s carbon footprint, they would pay more attention to the issue.

At least 75 percent of the fund will be invested in an environmentally-filtered basket of European shares, and only companies who have a better than average environmental record in their sector will be selected. Another 15 percent will be invested in companies adopting environment best practice, and 10 percent will be invested in firms specializing in solutions to environmental problems.

The Virgin Climate Change Fund opens for business on January 21 and will be available through IFAs and direct to the public.

This Fund is another initiative in the list of Virgin’s environmental commitment, which includes $3 billion for renewable energy and a partnership to develop ethanol. Last year, Virgin partnered with Boeing to develop planes that use biofuel.