5 ESG Stocks to Buy for Earth Day 2022

We explore five highly rated ESG-friendly stocks that act as standouts in five key environmental areas.

Earth Day concept art of the globe sprouting a plant while held in a child's hands
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Earth Day – celebrated on April 22 in 2022 – is a time to celebrate environmental wins, especially for investors who focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. So today, we're going to examine several ESG stocks that act as industry leaders in several key environmental areas.

No company has a perfect ESG profile, just as no company has a perfect balance sheet. In fact, many companies that now lead environmental efforts started out at the back or the middle of the pack. ESG investors can take some credit for many of these glow-ups, filing shareholder proposals on thorny environmental issues, demanding better ESG disclosure and creating an investing milieu that favors sustainability for long-term growth.

But therein lies the rub of ESG investing. This approach focuses on long-term issues such as climate change and biodiversity. Capital markets often revolve around much shorter-term thinking, however, with even quarter-to-quarter earnings changes demanding the utmost scrutiny. Thus, finding ESG stocks that are able to effectively manage both is difficult – but ultimately rewarding to both portfolio and planet.

Here, we look at five ESG-friendly stocks as we head into Earth Day 2022. We have teed up companies that act as standouts in five key environmental areas – climate change, water stewardship, clean transportation, biodiversity and safer chemicals – while also earning high marks from Wall Street equity researchers.

Disclaimer

Analysts' recommendations and other data as of April 18, courtesy of S&P Global Market Intelligence and YCharts, unless otherwise noted. S&P surveys analysts' stock calls and scores them on a five-point scale, where 1.0 equals a Strong Buy and 5.0 is a Strong Sell. Stocks are listed by analysts' consensus recommendation, from highest score (worst) to lowest (best).

Ellen Kennedy
Personal Finance Editor, Kiplinger.com

Ellen writes and edits personal finance stories, especially on retirement. She also covers the nexus between sustainability and personal finance. She worked in the mutual fund industry for 15 years, as a manager and sustainability analyst at Calvert Investments. She focused on consumer staples, consumer goods, climate change and water. She served on the sustainability councils of several Fortune 500 companies and led corporate engagements. Before joining Calvert, Ellen was a program officer for Winrock International, managing loans to alternative energy projects in Latin America. She earned a master’s from U.C. Berkeley in international relations and Latin America.