Divestment explained : one congregation's journey

By Sr Frances Orchard CJ:

The decision of the Congregation of Jesus (Mary Ward sisters) to divest of our investments in fossil fuels was not taken in a hurry and only became a reality in mid-2019 – despite the growing and laudable encouragement from Christian NGOs and a very good conference on divestment held at Mount Street early in 2019. The reason for the tardiness was not primarily because 9.9% of our total investments were in fossil fuels, but because our investment managers were pursuing a policy of ‘engagement’ rather than ‘divestment’ by putting pressure on the fossil fuel companies in line with our CJ ‘ethical investment policy’.

The objective was to ensure that such companies did not pursue policies that were contrary to their commitment to the Paris Climate Accord to which they had ostensibly signed up. If certain criteria were not met, they were warned that divestment could follow. We were not acting alone. One of our investment managers has a ‘Stewardship Section’ with a ‘Climate Active Fund’ which managed the investments of those who had the same concerns as us. As with all companies the value of fossil fuel companies can be calculated by their expectations of growth and not simply their current assets. If fossil fuel companies calculate their value on their future production, they will not be able to fulfil their commitment to the 2015 Paris Accord and would send global warming well above the 1.5 ̊ - 2.00 ̊ safe limit. Despite promises of compliance the action did not follow.

In the end it was our exasperated investment managers who agreed that the time had come to divest. My only concern about divestment was that other less scrupulous investors would snap up our stock without hesitation and exploitation of fossil fuels would continue apace.

Meanwhile, our younger members who are good at campaigning were rightly questioning our strategy. We were all familiar with ‘Laudato Si’, and genuinely committed to issues of justice for the planet and all who inhabit it, especially those who are poor. I had attended COP15 in Copenhagen as an NGO in 2009 so was aware of the issues. There was some opposition from more senior members who had had a hand in building up our investment portfolio, but in the end the decision to disinvest was not a difficult one to take. We understood the financial risks and the ethical issues involved and were pleased to take the decision to divest.

We believe that divestment from fossil fuels is the right decision given the urgency of the change we need to see.

Sr Frances Orchard CJ

Provincial Superior of the Congregation of Jesus