How to earn money by helping the environment

by Darrell Magnussen Consultant

Have you ever heard of a false dichotomy? It’s where you are told you have to choose one or the other, but in truth its entirely possible to have both. Profit and the environment are such a dichotomy. The way people against environmental regulation bring it, if you help the environment you’re hurting businesses and the economy. But that isn’t actually true.

There are many ways that helping the environment can save you money and even lead to all sorts of new viable businesses. Let’s look at a couple of ways below.

Get a green sector job

Despite efforts at the top of government, the green sector is going to keep growing as the rest of the world moves forward with such things as the Paris accord. That means there are a lot of opportunities for people who are willing to retool and work in such industries.

In an article in CNBC nine jobs which make at least 60k a year where there is going to be some great year on year growth. These jobs are:

1. Agriculture and food scientist.

2. Urban and regional planner.

3. Hydrologist.

4. Conservation scientist and forester.

5. Biochemist and biophysicist.

6. Atmospheric scientist and meteorologist.

7. Geoscientist.

8. Environmental scientist and specialist.

9. Environmental engineer.

So, why not see if you can work in one of these areas? Then not only will you be helping the planet, you’ll know a lot more about what the rest of us can do to do our part!

Take a green loan and upgrade your house

We all know that we can make our houses greener and our cars eco-friendlier and that doing so will save us money. The only problem is that most of us can’t cover the upfront cost associated with this change.

So why not use the loans which are in place for such things? Green loans are new types of loans which space out the payment of installing solar panels, insulation and other green initiatives over 10 to 15 years. Even better, they have a golden rule whereby how much you have to repay per month never rises above the energy savings you’ve made.

And then, when the loan is repaid, those savings are passed on to you. In other words, they pay for you to both save the planet and earn savings. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Dispose of e-waste

If you’re a serious tech-head and replace gadgets, computers, and screens on a regular basis, then you should think very carefully about what you’re doing with the stuff you get rid of. If you’re just throwing it away, then that’s bad for the environment and your pocket.

Instead, consider using companies like uSell or Gazelle, which will pay you for your electronics. Even better, if you know people around you who have a ton of such electronics lying around, why not offer to take it off their hands, sell it to these companies and split the earnings? You’ll be helping your friends, the environment and your pocket book!

Use your garden

Today most gardens are there only for decoration. We don’t even think of them as helping the environment. It didn’t used to be that way. People all over the world used their gardens to grow edible plants and fruit trees which added variety to their diet and in the process shortened how long it took for most meals to reach our tables.

Why not go back to that? It doesn’t have to be a huge investment of time and effort. Many herbs will grow in your back garden with only a minimum of oversight. And if you plant fruit trees, you’ll not just be able to reap the reward, but also offer a CO2 sink, food for local animals, and shade on hot summer days.

Just the tip of the (melting) iceberg

The truth is, there are many ways in which we can help our environment and ourselves. If we don’t want to be directly employed in the business, we can take steps to make sure our environmental impact is less and save money as we do so.

What’s more, by taking advantage of the programs that are out there, we are helping their creators spread them further so that they can help yet more people and environments. That’s not a false dichotomy, but a win win instead.