Money and Will: The Must-Haves for Sustainable Investment and Recovery

Policy used to push the solution and now solutions are pushing policy, but is there enough will and money to make a difference?

Unless you've stopped going outside or keeping up with the news entirely for the past year, you probably know that things aren't looking so great for the present economy or our planet, but according to climate activist and investor in green and sustainable projects Michael Naylor, there is hope. "Post-COVID, economic recovery will be a great opportunity [for investment]. In the old days, the policy was pushing the solution,” says  Naylor, “and now solutions are pushing policy.”

But is there enough will and money to make a difference? 

In regards to making the planet a priority, Naylor says, “There’s certainly enough money in the world. We can make this happen.” However, when it comes to the will, Naylor is careful to remind us that, “We all have a responsibility to our children…we’ve got to leave this planet in a way that gives us a chance. COVID has shown us what happens: It runs away from you and it is very catastrophic…We have been warned. We know the risks. Now there has to be a passion to move it. In essence, it seems Naylor is less optimistic that the money will, in fact, be funneled into the right places to reach the EU Council’s timeline goals of a 55% reduction of carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050, for one.

Naylor positioned himself as a success story that reads in line with planet-centric investment while stressing the urgency of immediate funding for green projects positioned to make a real difference. “I’m a good case study that you can commit to sustainability and make great returns…we need to mobilize more capital to get there quicker because we are running out of time,” Naylor says. He went on to paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, who once said, “No generation has a freehold on this earth. All we have is a life tenancy—with a full repairing lease.”

To that end, Naylor brought his family and investment portfolio to Portugal where he decided to fight the good fight against the planet’s most recent common enemy: the pandemic. He founded the NHR Compassion project after placing several phone calls to people in the NHR community, identifying the gaps in assistance to the Portuguese people, and with the help of the IPBN among others, Naylor and his connections comprised of 12 different nationalities formed the foundation. According to their website, the project “gives NHRs an opportunity to increase their contributions and give back by supporting those in Portuguese society who most need help during the Covid-19 Emergency.” The money raised through the NHR business community goes to support Isabel Jonet, President of the Federação Portuguesa dos Bancos Alimentares Contra a Fome, an institution that is feeding 4% of the Portuguese population today, delivering just over 400,000 meals to people who are going hungry. “Every penny that comes through the foundation goes to the food bank,” according to Naylor. 

Post-COVID, Naylor hopes it will not be as relevant, but he intends to keep the money available if it needs to be reactivated.

In Portugal and beyond, there have been many other government-induced schemes to help renters, landlords, freelancers, and skilled laborers make it through these difficult economic times. Tax incentives, stimulus checks, and write-offs have been released all over the world to ensure we can all survive what the pandemic has brought to the business world, while banks are scrambling to assist families and those in the private and public sectors with different loan packages, ranging wildly between the various institutions.  

If you want to know more about these schemes, our members are here to help. Get in touch with us and we’ll introduce you to the right person.