As the festive season approaches, Australians are increasingly choosing gifts that do good, transforming the holidays from a season of excess to one of generosity, sustainability and social change. From supporting First Nations businesses and ethical brands to giving directly through charity cards or attending community events, here are our suggestions for making every gift impactful. One simple way to give with purpose is through International Justice Mission (IJM) Australi

Despite the Trump administration’s attacks on renewable energy and company commitments to ESG, impact investment continues to grow globally with the Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN) now estimating the size of the worldwide impact investing market at USD $1.571 trillion , the first time it has topped the USD $1.5 trillion mark. Advocates of impact investing say funds using environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact metrics have a competitive edge as climate c

GiveDirectly , a nonprofit that lets donors send money directly to the world's poorest households, aims to accelerate the end of extreme poverty globally. Check out their video showing how cash sent directly to those in need in Malawi has made life-changing improvements for individuals, families and whole communities. Since 2009, GiveDirectly delivered US$900M+ in cash directly into the hands of over 1.7 million people living in poverty. The organisation currently has opera

Australia has more than $4 trillion in retirement savings but little of this finds its way to clean energy investments and even less to such projects in Australia. Give a listen to strategist Jeremy Cooper and his idea to fix this in the latest Energy Insiders podcast produced by the RenewEconomy team. Plus : The Super battery’s not so super moment, and a rush of other new projects. The call for super reporting reforms to include voluntary new metrics that support investmen

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) and Boomerang Alliance have just released their third annual audit report on supermarket plastic use, and the findings are concerning. Despite growing awareness, all four major supermarkets, Woolworths, Coles, ALDI and Metcash, are still falling short in reducing unnecessary packaging. The findings highlight the need for the supermarkets to pick up their game and for the federal and state governments to pass the mandatory p

Wesley Mission is demanding the NSW government take action to curb gambling as new figures show the state's poker-machine players are losing more than $1 million every hour and $2.3 billion was lost on the state's almost 88,000 machines from April to June 2025. Wesley Mission's analysis shows that 141 new poker machines were switched on across NSW since March this year despite the Minns government saying it was reducing the overall numbers by reducing the gaming machine en

Thanks to our Ethinvest clients and friends who joined us for recent screenings of The Future Council in Sydney and Melbourne! It was great to see you in person. Following up, you can support Future Councils of young people around the world here or consider supporting the Australian Youth Climate Council ’s (AYCC) efforts to expand their team and work in the country’s biggest mining state, Western Australia. The AYCC equips young people, aged 13-30, with the skills and expe

In its latest “Oliver’s Insights” report , AMP’s head economist Dr. Shane Oliver says that to navigate share market wobbles, AI bubble worries and uncertainty about central bank rate cuts he recommends investors focus on assets that generate consistent income and resist reacting to short-term noise by remaining focused on long-term goals. Oliver points to several risk factors: geopolitical uncertainty, tariff tensions (especially given U.S. trade policy), and stretched share