“The environment knows no national borders. Harm done to mother nature in one part of the world is not only of local concern, but to mankind as a whole. This is why global cooperation and strong frameworks are needed. Ecocide-legislation must be seen in this light,” says Christian Heger, CEO, GodFond i Sverige AB (GoodCause Foundation).
GodEl and GodFond – all dividends to charity
These sister companies, founded by serial/impact entrepreneur Stefan Krook, have the rare business model of donating all profits distributed as dividends to charity. The foundation, GoodCause (mother company of GodEl and GodFond), was founded in 2005 and has, since the start, handed out 142 million SEK to NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders, Naturskyddsföreningen, Save the Children, Stockholms Stadsmission and Barncancerfonden. It’s the customers who choose the distribution of the dividends among the NGOs.
GodEl is Sweden’s eighth largest electricity retailer with over 200,000 customers, and only 39 employees, including CEO Maria Erdmann. All electricity contracts include Sweden’s strictest eco-label “Bra Miljöval”. GodEl has the highest residential customer satisfaction among Sweden’s 30 largest electricity retailers, according to Svenskt Kvalitetsindex (SKI). Residential customers pay GodEl’s purchase price plus a fixed monthly fee of 39 kronor. Changing your electricity retailer to GodEl will most likely imply saving money, getting the most ecofriendly electricity and donating money to charity at no extra cost.
GodEl takes a holistic approach to sustainability, including social, economic, and environmental aspects.
GodFond i Sverige AB (“GodFond”), founded in 2009, is a sustainable equity fund with a charity component. The fund is split equally between Sweden and global markets (50/50) and includes more than 500 stocks. The investors keep their return after management fees, just as for any other equity fund. It is the company profit in GodFond, that is distributed to charity. The Company is run by CEO Christian Heger, whereas the fund itself is managed by Storebrand Fonder.
Some of the most prominent entrepreneurs and business leaders in Sweden have invested in the fund, thereby becoming so called ‘GoodInvestors’ for which there are meetups and events around interesting topics.
