Is Renewable Energy Group Stock Halal?
How much of Renewable Energy Group’s revenue comes from haram?
Renewable Energy Group earns its revenue from the following revenue sources:
- Biomass-based diesel sales:
Includes producing, purchasing, and reselling biomass-based diesel created by converting natural fats, oils, and greases, such as vegetable oils and inedible animal fats, into lower-carbon transportation fuels.
Renewable Energy Group also provides facility and construction management and operational services to biomass-based diesel production facilities.
- Biomass-based diesel government incentives:
Includes credits acquired from local and federal governments received on a per-gallon basis for its pure biomass-based diesel blend with petroleum-based diesel fuel.
The contributions from each of Renewable Energy Group’s revenue segments in their 2020 annual report were as follows:
From the aforementioned, Practical Islamic Finance finds none of Renewable Energy Group’s revenue to come from anything inherently haram.
Does Renewable Energy Group rely on interest to operate?
Renewable Energy Group reports its Interest Income & Expenses as a net value.
According to the company’s annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (Numbers in thousands, U.S. dollars):
Interest Expense (net): $7,911
Total Expenses: $1,988,096
Interest Expense / Total Expense: 0.40%
The following table shows the declining percentage that net interest expense makes up relative to total expenses from 2017 to 2020.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Interest Expense (net) | 0.86% | 0.85% | 0.55% | 0.40% |
From the aforementioned, Practical Islamic Finance finds Renewable Energy Group’s reliance on interest in its operations to be negligible.
What is Renewable Energy Group’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impact?
Environment
Renewable Energy Group achieved 4.2 million metric tons of carbon reduction by producing 519 million gallons of biofuel according to Renewable Energy Group’s 2020 ESG Report.
Social
Renewable Energy Group has a Glassdoor rating of 3.9 out of 5 from current and previous employees compared to a 3.3 average for all other Glassdoor rated companies.
Governance
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, Renewable Energy Group took the following actions according to their 2020 ESG Report:
- Produced hand sanitizer from renewable sources to ensure availability for their essential workers when it was in short supply.
- Held voluntary on-site COVID-19 vaccination clinics in 2021 and donated a specialized freezer to a local medical facility to aid in efficient and accessible vaccination efforts.
- Established a paid-time-off policy for employees affected by COVID-19, including caring for impacted family members.
- Supported local communities with financial donations, volunteers, and other assistance.
From the aforementioned, Practical Islamic Finance finds Renewable Energy Group to have a substantially positive ESG impact.
Comfort Rating
From Renewable Energy Group’s business, financial and ESG reviews, Practical Islamic Finance rates Renewable Energy Group as:
Comfortable to invest in from a Halal perspective.
Sources
Renewable Energy Group Reviews
2020 ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE REPORT RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP