Clean Edge Can Help Investors Profit From Clean Tech

The world needs to be saved. The global climate crisis threatens our planet. But for every mayor like Greg Nickels of Seattle, who encourages people to drink tap water rather than bottled, or for every consumer who chooses reusable tote bags when shopping, there are thousands of cars and factories cropping up in developing countries such as China and India that cancel those actions out.

Small steps by individuals certainly can help, but major progress is not going to be made in solving the worldwide crisis without major action.

Major action will happen when people realize they can profit from making environmentally conscious choices.

To that end, Clean Edge is here to help.

The company, founded in 2000 by Ron Pernick and Joel Makower, is a research and publishing firm that strives to help investors, companies and governments learn about and profit from using clean technology.

Clean Edge "tracks and analyzes clean-tech markets, trends, and opportunities through its network of partners and affiliates," according to the company's website. "Clean Edge, with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland Oregon, offers unparalleled insight and intelligence on the emerging clean-tech economy."

Clean Edge's products and services include market research reports, the Clean-Tech Investor Summit, strategic consulting services, a daily newsfeed and a monthly newsletter. But perhaps the most useful and unique tool they offer investors are the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Indexes. These are "benchmark indexes which track U.S.-listed clean-energy companies," according to the website.

"The NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Index (CLEN) and the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index (CELS) are modified market capitalization-weighted indices designed to track the performance of companies that are primarily manufacturers, developers, distributors, or installers of clean-energy technologies. An exchange traded fund (ETF) is based on the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index and is sponsored by First Trust Advisors L.P.," according to the website.

If enough people invest in clean technology, and make clean technologies viable on a large scale, the world can be changed.