Building efficiency and ethical investing.

Equity markets have enjoyed their best first quarter since the boom years of the late 1990s. For the first three months of 2012 the S&P 500 rose 10.7%,The FTSE 100 rose by 4%,Germany’s DAX surged nearly 18%.  the Hang Seng Index has risen 12% , while the Shanghai Composite is up 2.9%.

Japan's Nikkei gained 19% - its best quarter in decades!

The Australian ASX rose 7%. India's Sensex is up a hefty 12.6%, Brazil’s Ibovespa closed the quarter up 13.7% and Chile and Argentine put in strong performances. Whilst this is all good news for equity investors, there are still concerns in parts of the Eurozone - especially Spain.

Our pick for the Ethical/Renewable Energy Portfolio this month is:

•       Johnson Controls (JCI:NYSE)

People tend to focus on vehicle emissions as a principal source of the heat-trapping carbon dioxide that propels global warming. But building operations actually account for a much greater share of carbon emissions—about 40%. Efficiency is the fastest, cheapest and most environmentally powerful element to consider when building from scratch or retrofitting an existing building. In the quest to turn back carbon emission, it would appear that building energy efficiency comes high up the order.Johnson Controls is a global diversified company in the building and automotive industries.Johnson Controls was involved in the deep energy retrofit of the Empire State building in New York. This achieved a total reduction in energy use of 38.4% - making it the most energy-efficient building retrofit in the world.

Johnson Controls has been named one of the “World's Most Ethical Companies” for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute.

Ethisphere is dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.It currently pays a handy 2.2% dividend yield. The latest financial figures look good too.With its long history of strong performance and its leadership in energy efficiency building and retrofits, this company looks set to continue growing in a sustainable way.