The five greenest ways to manage your cash

Five ways to 'green up' your finances

The Chancellor, Alistair Darling dug in deep with the green content of his 2009 Budget, with an ambitious target to cut the UK's carbon emissions by 34% during the next 11 years - a world first, he declared.

Mr Darling also pledged £1bn to combat climate change, £435m to spend on energy-efficient measures across the country's homes, schools and businesses - and even a £525m investment in offshore wind farms. He also stressed that, "any economic recovery must protect the environment."

Sceptics might say that any focus on the environment was one less on the widespread tax hikes and cuts in public spending, rather than a heart-felt desire to save the earth. 

Nevertheless, others will see the start of a new tax year as an opportunity to 'green up' their finances regardless. Not only will it help you sleep at night but you could even be cultivating a profit too…  

Rubii looks at the five greenest ways to manage your cash:

Start as you mean to go on

If environmental concerns feature high up on your life's agenda, seek out a Financial Adviser to match. "Clients quite simply need to ask themselves if they are in interested in 'making profit whatever it takes' or 'making profit that considers their ethical lifestyle'," says Jeremy Newbegin, director at The Ethical Partnership and member of Rubii. You can source a green financial adviser through the Rubii search facility.

Take advantage of the car scrappage scheme

If your car is more than 10 years old - and you have been its registered owner for at least 12 months - trade it in for a new one and received a £2,000 subsidy under the Government’s car scrappage scheme, announced in the recent Budget. You will be helping your wallet, the environment and the car manufacturing industry in one fell swoop.

Land yourself a green mortgage

Lenders like the Ecology Building Society only supply mortgages to environmentally sound homes. If yours is not yet green enough to qualify but you still want to help the environment, look at Norwich & Peterborough Building Society and the Co-operative Bank both of which offer green mortgages, such as promising to plant trees for the first five years of repayments.

Confine your investment portfolio to green or ethical funds

If you are serious about ethical investing, research into companies that carry strong green credentials. "These are typically smaller companies but they also tend to do well as the economy pulls out of a recession," says Dominic O’Brien, director at Jamieson Christie Wealth Management and member of Rubii. Even Mr Darling himself called the green industry "a great growth sector in the world economy."

Spend your money with local businesses

It sounds simple and it is. Regularly walking to the local shop will not only reduce your carbon emissions and boost your fitness levels, it will also mean you are supporting local businesses - which has to be a win-win all round.

Find green investments advisers on Rubii.