Environmental Investment Sites: Sector Analysis and Development of GreenMoney.at

Abstract

Web sites pertaining to both traditional and socially responsible investment (SRI) have emerged in recent years, seeking to help investors make informed decisions. This chapter illuminates how such information systems accommodate the particular information needs of their audiences and unveils ideological differences in the arguments put forward. For this purpose, a sample of five SRI sites was investigated qualitatively and quantitatively and juxtaposed to an equally sized sample of traditional investment sites. The main results of these investigations were used to refine an independent investment site (Ecolnvest.org), which was implemented using an open-source content management system. In a joint project with the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology, the prototype was then integrated with the content of GreenMoney.at, an established site that targets the Austrian investment market.