Executive Committee Report
for 1998

Review of the Year

Our AGM event was held in March at the Charity Centre on the theme; ‘Ethical Investment in Practice’ attended by about 40 people. Barbara Hayes brought her experience of helping organise the Shell 1997 shareholders’ resolution; Neville White the recently appointed Ethical Researcher for the Church of England and Dr Craig Mackenzie of Friends’ Provident challenged us to consider positive criteria in investment. Your Chair summarised the practical steps groups can take:

• Determine what investments they have under their control;
• Debate the issues associated with these and
• Decide what course of action is appropriate.

Remember no ethical investment policy will be spotless!

Over the past few years we have been encouraging denominational sub-groups. The Roman Catholic Sub-group under the Chairmanship of Eaver McMahon and secretaryship of Darryll Candy is making important headway with four meetings this year. Four RC dioceses have made the important step of writing down their ethical investment policies so helping to understand the link between funds available to them and their application to our sinful world. The Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conference has now asked for a model ethical investment policy to be drawn up for their consideration and this together with a theological basis of ethical investment is being prepared. Details of CEIG, ECCR, and RITES were included with the Catholic Agency for Social Concern’s Christmas mailing.

The Anglican General Synod Sub-group held two meetings. In July Chris Emerson of the SAFE Alliance gave a lucid review of the issues relating to genetic modification and biotechnology. One of our staunchest members, Farmer Jim White, tentatively proposed a General Synod private members’ motion but sadly Jim died in December and we look to others to carry the baton. In November both Peter Selby Anglican Bishop of Worcester and Robert Easton of Triodos Bank challenged us over the effects of the credit explosion in our world.

In the second year of RITES (Religious Investors Taking Ethics Seriously) the project continued to provide materials – this year’s theme ‘Faith and Finance’ - for parish and individual use; speakers in a wide variety of organisations and undertook a survey of Anglican diocesan ethical investment policies.

Expenses were in line with previous years but individual membership subscriptions were down. Your Committee will propose at the AGM to increase the subscription rates at the AGM to £20 (individual), £10 (unwaged), and £75 (Corporate) but our success as a Group depends on you all encouraging new members to join.

The Committee met four times in the year with attendance of 9, 7, 8 and 11 at each one. Those who served during the year were Paul Brett (Vice-Chair), Alan Kirkham, Bernice Broggio, , Darryll Candy, Elizabeth Haigh, Alistair Hanton, Gavin Oldham, Patricia Raikes, Bill Whiffen and myself as Chair. Brigid Benson and Tim Royle retired at the AGM.

1998 saw Bill Whiffen retire as our indefatigable Secretary. Bill was involved with the formation of CEIG and the original Bishop of Oxford court case. He has helped build CEIG to what it is today and justly can take credit from moving ethical investment from the domain of a few hot-heads to being seen as an integral part of our Christian Faith and witness. We are delighted that Tony Weekes – who is based in York – has taken on Bill’s mantle and he has many thoughts for the development of the Group.

Discussions were held with ECCR concerning a possible merger of the two organisations but it was concluded that, although the two bodies needed to work in close co-operation a merger would lose the distinctive contribution of the two bodies.

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