Eco-friendly savings plans target young in France

A new savings plan has started this summer aimed at young people, in which their money invested is used to help businesses and projects which are positive for the environment – but there are several ways to do so for those older than the target age for this.

The main way for adult savers to identify investment products that are officially deemed to help the ‘ecological transition’ – such as firms building solar panels or wind turbines – is to look for the ISR label, meaning investissement socialement responsable.

Read more: New French bank savings account for under-21s: rules and interest rate

Environmental goals

These are funds targeted towards helping the environment and that are also considered socially responsible and well-managed. They cannot be invested in any firms that are considered to be by their nature polluting, such as those involved in fossil fuels.

New rules are set to require the minimum percentage of such funds invested in sectors with a strong impact on France’s environmental goals to be increased year after year. Investment funds which can have this label include Sicavs and SCPs, and FIAs (‘alternative’ investment funds).

You can speak to your bank, financial advisor or insurance firm about options, which can include holding these investments via a compte-titres, a plan épargne en actions, an assurance vie or a plan d’épargne retraite.

You can also look into obligations vertes (‘green bonds’), which are put out by governments and companies to fund ecological projects, and which can also be held in an assurance vie.

Note that some banks propose their own tailor-made ISR products, such as the CPR Invest – Climate Action at Crédit Agricole, which it promises is invested in ‘a selection of those companies that are the most committed to the energy transition and ecology’. It aims at a better-than-average investment return compared to the world’s stock markets if it is held for five years minimum.

Green shares

Another way is to buy shares directly in ‘green’ companies.

Meanwhile, the new plan d’épargne avenir climat is aimed at under-21s who live in France, though once one is open the holder can keep it until they are 30.

Money saved on them can usually only be withdrawn once the person is 18, and the money has been held on the plan for five years.

The rate will not be fixed as the return will depend on how well the investments in the plan do. They will all be ones labelled either ISR or the similar France Finance Verte.