10 most traded green stocks right now

With sustainable investing continuing to be on the rise we've provided 10 of the most popular sustainable investments.

As the world transitions to net zero emissions, savvy investors are looking to front run the transition.

Following climate talks dubbed "COP26" wealthy nations have pledged more than $100 billion in climate financing initiatives.

At the same time, some of the world's largest companies and institutions are looking to green their portfolios to the tunes of trillions.

Saxo Banque's director Christopher Dembik noted that ESG investing is continuing to rise as climate change cannot be ignored by investors or policy makers.

He highlighted "Natural disasters, often related to climate change, are more frequent and more violent.

"Based on statistics released by "Our World in data", there have been 335 natural disasters per year over the past 20 years, which is twice as frequent as 1985 to 1995," he told Finder.

The director also pointed out the rising economic costs

"It reached $200 billion per year on average over the past 10 years, which is 4 times more than in the 1980s," Dembik continues.

With the world transitioning to meet these challenges, Dembik reminds investors they can actually increase their returns by being part of the solution.

"Investors and companies cannot only adopt an accounting approach to climate change, they understand more and more frequently that it is also their social responsibility to fight against it and implement ESG processes in their business model and strategic asset allocation," he said.

"Also, ESG products are usually less volatile, with lower risk of divestment, reduced risk of fines and, recently, better return on investment than traditional peers."

Top 10 sustainable stocks

To help investors, Saxo has sent a list of the top 10 sustainable traded shares currently on its platform based on Corporate Knights' most sustainable companies 2021 index.

1. Tesla Inc.

Given this company's position as the world's largest manufacturer of low-emission automobiles, it should come as no surprise that Elon Musk's Tesla is the top stock pick for 2021 for our Australian clients.

When asked about Tesla's stock price, Junvum Kim, Sales Trader at Saxo, explained:

"The recent extreme rally in Tesla's stock price seems to have coincided post better than expected delivery numbers, however a recent Hertz deal ordering 100,000 cars for largest EV rental fleet that seems to signal achieving the net-zero carbon emissions is starting to be realised."

2. NVidia Corp.

One of the world's top producers of computer chips and graphics processing units (GPUs), as well as a gaming industry titan, NVidia has gone from strength to strength in 2021.

While only ranks 100th on the Corporate Knights Global Index, it is making strives to improve.

It has reduced its manufacturing emissions by 15% per employee since 2014.

In fact, this makes it one of the greenest chip manufacturers around right now.

3. Alphabet Inc.

Known best as the company behind Google, it can be hard to describe exactly what Alphabet sees itself as, given that it has its fingers in so many pies. Social media, AI, solar panels, driverless cars, health technology – there are few growth industries that Alphabet is not deeply involved in.

4. National Australia Bank Ltd.

The NAB is the 21st-largest bank on the planet with more than $800 billion in assets worldwide.

It is also one of the most consistently popular stock picks for our Australian traders looking at ESG investing.

The bank ranks 44th on the Corporate Knights Global Index, despite its past investments in fossil fuel companies.

5. Intel Corp.

Intel is the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips, a product that has experienced unprecedented demand across 2021.

This is combined with increasing shortages.

The tech giant is also increasingly flexing its sustainability muscles, recently transitioning to a 100% renewable energy supply in the US and Europe.

This is a heralded move given the company operates in a carbon-intensive industry.

6. Taiwan Semiconductor

Described in some quarters as the most important company in the world, semiconductor chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor has proven to be a hugely popular stock pick for Australian investors in 2021.

Meanwhile, the company has committed to net-zero by 2050, making this a boon for any green investor.

7. Autodesk Inc.

The Silicon Valley software giant Autodesk Inc. is another tech bigwig that has interests in a staggering variety of sectors.

The company is known for sustainability from its products from 3D printing, through to its cloud and virtual reality platforms.

8. Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Not surprisingly an energy company was going to feature at some point.

How we produce the energy we consume will largely determine the outcome of climate change.

While we know power will play a role, it's potentially wind power that will play the biggest role.

This is the case with Vestas, a Danish manufacturer of wind turbines which is currently the largest wind company in the world and ranks 21st on the Corporate Knights Global Index, along with €12 billion in annual revenue for 2020.

9. Brambles Ltd.

The Australian company is a major global supplier of loading equipment, pallets and shipping containers.

While these products are all needed in the future of trade, its commitment to net zero is where the company shines.

Brambles is also ahead of the pack when it comes to climate commitments, having signed up to the 1.5 degrees commitments of the Paris Agreement and making independently-decided, science-based carbon reduction decisions in its supply chain.

10. Cisco Systems Inc.

The Silicon Valley software titan Cisco has also had a good year on the stock market.

But it is also a major player in a greener world.

Cisco is one of the top-ranked companies in the Corporate Knights Global Index at rank 13.

This is due to its emission reduction pledges and being a corporate partner of COP26.