As student journalists, we deal with questions of ethics every day. When we make decisions about which stories we cover and how we approach writing them, we consider how to maximize our positive impact to the best of our ability. Learning about how to let morals guide our choices is one of the most valuable things we gain by working on the Chronicle. Therefore, we are excited to expand the scope of the areas of ethics we explore this year with the introduction of the Chronicle Investment Team.
We have been lucky enough to receive a grant to form an investment team comprised of students from the Chronicle and the Economics Club. With the help of Chief Financial Officer David Weil, we will seek to make investments that not only boast economic gain but also support socially and environmentally conscious causes.
In meetings, we investigate the economic progress and social commitments of various companies and funds.
We will begin our portfolio by investing part of our grant in Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW) and Starbucks Corporation (SBUX).
Starbucks is not only an economically stable and fast growing corporate powerhouse; the company is also committed to minimizing its environmental footprint by offering ethically purchased and responsibly sourced products.
The Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF is an Index composed of publicly traded stocks and companies that are committed to clean energy sources and energy conservation. The PBW fund invests in a very diverse group of companies in the business of renewable energy, beyond just wind, solar, biofuels and geothermal energy.
In the years to come, as our portfolio grows, future generations of students will continue to engage in this project. Once the investments start to generate returns, a portion will be taken out of the account and donated to a charity chosen by the graduating class of the Chronicle.
It is important to us that we not only invest in companies that have a positive impact but that all of the profits made from the project have a positive impact as well. Therefore, all money in this project will either be used to invest in more socially responsible organizations or be donated to organizations with a positive impact.
As the project unfolds, we will track our investments’ progress and explain our decision-making here in the Chronicle. If you are interested in learning more, read about why we chose Starbucks and Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF on hwchronicle.com and how our investments are doing in the print edition next issue.
