Ethically responsible investing, is it for you? It should be if you want to understand fully the consequences of what you invest your dollars in. But in today’s investment ‘race to the bottom’ strategies in maximizing profits, the principles of a higher good give way to investor’s gleaming eyes of greed.

For most Americans, investment knowledge is limited to getting more money out of a company than originally put in or having blind trust in their employer’s 401K retirement plan. The first is better than the second method, but the next step has to be taken: that of finding out what the company actually does in the world.

You’re on your own with this next step since a company’s statement of ethics are difficult to extract. The practice of self-reporting on a company’s ethical character is quite suspicious and pales against the greater question of: Is the self-reporting accurate?

Third party independent monitors who themselves are rated as to their accuracy is currently the best way to really know what a company does in the world. What is needed, ultimately, is for companies to become more transparent and accountable. This way, investors could easily and accurately know whether to responsibly invest in a worthwhile cause.

Read more about ethical investing at The Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com).