UK: Faith-inspired ethical investing. A role model for the US?

Just Means.com, a UK-based website devoted to corporate responsibility and sustainability, reported on some new investment directives coming from organizations within the UK Christian community.  Of interest to ALL investors was the principle underlying this effort:  That churches and their members can wield great power to affect change with their investment dollars... 

Earlier this month saw the return of National Ethical Investment Week, which wants Christians of all denominations to think before they invest.  This year, the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR) produced a special 'Action Guide for Churches' to encourage Christians to 'apply their principles through their savings and investment decisions'. It is intriguing, but perhaps not surprising, that churches have an interest in CSR...

The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Organisation (UKSIF), has highlighted that churches have a history of using their spending power for positive change. This has included targeting unfair labour practices, combating apartheid in South Africa and tackling arms trading.

As a corporate body, focused on CSR, UK Christians, of all shapes and sizes, have more power than they think. The latest figures available from the Church of England show that the church commissioners manage £4.4bn of assets. And that is only the corporate funds of one part of the Christian church. The combination of every denomination, and each churchgoer, focussing their funds on ethical investment would have a powerful impact on the market.

A survey, conducted by YouGov and released as part of National Ethical Investment Week this year, showed that there is a growing appetite for green and ethical options, especially among those aged 35 and over. More than half (54%) of all GB adults with investments want to make money but also to make a difference.

However, the financial services industry and even those companies with a track record in CSR seem to be missing a trick in marketing their green and ethical financial options. More than four in 10 (43%) of all GB adults remain unaware that they have green and ethical options on a wide range of financial products from cash ISAs and funds, to mortgages and pensions.

The survey, of 2,700 UK adults, showed that people aged 35 and over are more concerned about creating a sustainable future than younger adults, busting the myth that the younger generation tends to be more green and ethical.

When it comes to savings and investments, more than half (58%) of over 55s and (54%) of those aged 35-54 want to make money and a positive difference to the world with their investments, compared to one in three (33%) 18-24 year olds.

Companies which have a strong CSR track record in this area are clearly not shouting loudly enough about what is on offer. It is true that what people say in a survey and what they do in real life is often very different. However, even bearing that in mind there is clearly an increasing interest in ethical products which ethical companies should make the most of.