Green Money

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Who: Mary Wenzel, VP, Environmental Affairs Wells Fargo & Co. What:Investing more than $1 billion in green projects both commercial and residential—from  new build to renovation. Information: log on to wellsfargo.com/contactus to be connected with your local Wells Fargo green-building specialist.

Who John S. Adams, Senior Vice President Wealth Management, Smith Barney Citi Group What A socially and environmentally responsible investment portfolio Information (800) 426-7837, ext. 4853 http://fa.smithbarney.com/johnadams

Gregory Prugh & Eileen Sheffer Prugh Real Estate, Jackson, WY(307) 733-9888 prughrealestate.com

Eco-friendly investors, banks and realtors allow you to make decisions that aren't just financially sound, but also environmentally, socially and ethically responsible.

Green Lending

When banks support sustainable building, there is a strong trickle-down effect and developers start developing green projects very quickly. In 2005, Wells Fargo announced that it would commit to investing more than $1 billion over five years in environmentally friendly businesses.

The company has also financed 16 LEED-certified commercial buildings—from medical centers and schools to buildings developed on cleaned-up brownfield sites—and is actively working with residential developers. Mountain Living talked with Mary Wenzel, Vice President, Environmental Affairs at Wells Fargo & Co.

$1 Billion Commitment to Green
We were the first large financial institution to set a financial target for environmentally friendly business opportunities, making this a priority for Wells Fargo. Establishing this target helped raise awareness and create focus on these opportunities.

Some examples of the increased focus are our $200 million in investments and financing of renewable-energy developments, the creation of a Green Equity Equivalent Investment program in our Community Development Corporation and the inclusion of green home-improvement tools in our new home-improvement campaign.

Incentives for Builders and Homeowners
We encourage green practices by raising awareness and support through our green products and services. We educate our lenders and maintain expertise in the financing of green buildings. We support green home builders with attractive mortgage incentives and promotions to make their green homes more attractive to potential buyers. We offer energy-efficient mortgages and renovations programs.

We provide our customers with tools and information about green home improvements. Through our Community Development Corporation’s Green EQ2’s we support the development of green affordable homes.

Why This Makes Economic Sense
Our customer relationships are most important in our business. Our customers are starting to embrace green building and we are here to support them. Also, while it is too early to prove this with historical data, we believe that many features of green building represent lower risks to the consumer and to our company when compared to the features of conventional building.

Green Investing

Mountain Living recently sat down with John S. Adams, Senior Vice President Wealth Management, Smith Barney Citi Group, to ask about environmentally and socially responsible investment portfolios.

What do your clients look for?
Most people who do social investing are interested in investments that are congruent with their personal values. When developing an investment strategy, we build environmental, social and ethical questions into the interview process to make sure our clients don’t hold investments that are counter to their personal principles.

What is Integrated Investing?
In order to invest in a company, of course we look at fundamental valuation but we also need to know about the company’s social and environmental performance. We consider this indicative of the quality of the company’s management.

Are there shades of green?
We don’t always look for perfect companies but those we consider “best of class” when it comes to social and environmental thinking. For example, there is no perfect auto company, but if you look at Toyota internationally and Ford domestically, they are clear leaders.

We also look at companies that are in the process of environmental innovation like Emerson Electric, which is establishing some environmentally conscious business lines. Starbucks is becoming more conscious of its environmental impact and has a better record than most on how they treat their growers as well as their employees here in the United States. Green is not a trend; it is good for business.

Who are your clients?

Our client base is very broad—from school teachers to business owners to NASA scientists to trusts and foundations. We are meeting our clients’ investment needs if they can pass two “sleeping at night” tests. One: Are you comfortable with your risk level? Two: Can you sleep at night knowing that you’re investing in things you believe in and that are making the world better? People should be requiring that of their financial advisors on a regular basis and most good firms should provide that service.

Green Real Estate

“The point of being a green realtor is to represent properties that are designed and built around the concepts of sustainability. The entire country is rethinking energy use and the way that our mountain towns are being developed.

"Our job is not only to sell real estate but also to educate people on green building and green living. We’re based in Jackson, Wyoming, and people who already have a second home in, let’s say, Nantucket, come to us and want to buy a home that’s green and maintenance free.

They want to buy a turn-key property with lower costs to get the home up and running. We work with local developers (and are, in fact, ourselves a developer) to encourage the building of high-performance properties that leave a small footprint on the land, and use passive solar, solar electric and natural light.

"We also encourage innovative techniques like using a quartz-and-pine-resin compound for driveways and recycled wood for countertops. This kind of thinking interests our green-savvy clients. Major changes are coming. In response to the market, the next few years will see more realtors with a lot more knowledge about green building.”