By Amanda Morrall
1) Ethical investing
Many scoff at the idea of ethical investing. To be sure, it is no simple matter. One of the biggest arguments working against the concept is that the incestuous relationships among profitable corporates makes it virtually impossible to find a business that isn't polluting the environment, mistreating its people, or otherwise behaving like a boar of a corporate citizen. That's a cynics view anyway.
In celebration of National Ethical Investment Week in the U.K., Guardian Money explores the latest themes in green finance and explains how to join the ethical revolution.
In case you decide to skip it, funds under management that qualify as being invested in "sustainable and responsible" businesses, have reached £275 billion in the U.K. According to the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia, managed responsible investment portfolios in 2010 were valued at A$15.41 billion, a 10% increase from 2009.
In tomorrow's Take Five we'll explore this theme in greater depth.
2) "Encore careers"
By force or choice, many Boomers are working beyond 65 and putting retirement on the back shelf. According to this piece from AP, a good deal of them are staying in the workforce willingly for the income and social engagement. But it's not just any old job keeping them there. They want to make a difference with their "encore careers" and are making a selection based on a greater good goal.
3) Fee free university
Hedge fund billionaire Peter Thiel has popularised the idea that university is a waste of money for today's youth given the return on the investment is so poor for many graduates. Last weekend, experts with an interest in the issue debated the future of education at a big think conference in Massachusetts, called the Nantucket Project.
According to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, a Harvard prof and one of the participants, future university students have reason to be hopeful. That's because Summers envisions university being fee-free in a decade having transformed into an on-line classroom in the cloud.
Time Money covered the event and reports on the diversity of opinion about the future of university.
4) Cut your carbon footprint and save $
Joulebug is a new iPhone app that helps you calculate your carbon footprint, so you can shrink it - and save money.
It took top honours recently at SXSWeco, an offshoot of the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas a high-tech jamboree that brings together experts in tech, academia, and government to "share innovative products and ideas for finding solutions for a sustainable world.”
Joulebug's designer talks to Good Is about his inspiration and how it works here.
5) Kiwi ingenuity
Closer to home, business innovation and incubation hub IceHouse is showcasing New Zealand's best and brightest start-ups Oct.23 at the NZ Angel Investment Showcase. The Showcase is a" one-night event featuring presentations by 15 hand-picked start-ups to New Zealand’s largest gathering of angel investors, CEOs, and venture capitalists."
Find out more about the event and the participants here.
To read other Take Fives by Amanda Morrall click here. You can also follow Amanda on Twitter @amandamorrall
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