Walk the Talk With Your Money

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Walk the Talk With Your Money
Pat Zerega, Director Corporate Social
Responsibility ELCA Summer 2005
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We impact the world in a variety of ways

• Our presence
• Our leadership
• Our actions
• Our charity

We also impact the world through how we invest
our money.
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When we speak of investing in light of our faith,
we often hear

• - That is good, but I have so little money to
  deal with
• - Id like to look at that, but I only have
  mutual funds
• - I need a better return on my cash than I can
  get with religious funds
• - We have so little time to look at this issue

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Lets spend some time looking at the spectrum of
ways one might walk the talk when it comes to our
money.
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Do we look at ways that we might be
environmentally efficient? ELCA Environmental
Audit Guide (www.elca.org/epr/environment/envind
ex.html)
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Do we look to purchase fairly traded products
when possible?
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Do we take into consideration any of the
following in our purchasing and hiring choices
local businesses, minority business, or products
made by union labor?
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-Are there any things we would not choose to
invest in? -Do we apply any screens to our
investments? -Do we only use certain types of
mutual funds which screen out certain investments?
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Have we invested in our local community loan
fund? Have we looked at any micro credit
funds? Have we invested in stock in a company we
particularly feel is doing good things?
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To align our values with our investments we may
look to formulate filters which will restrict
investments in companies whose actions run
counter to our values.
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These might include issues such as harmful
products (alcohol, tobacco, gambling,
pornography), environmental issues, or weapons
which cause mass destruction.
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Annually a proxy statement is sent out from the
company asking shareholders to vote. Items vary
from governance issues to shareholder
resolutions.
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Read these statements carefully. How do the
issues line up with your values? The ELCA
Corporate Social Responsibilitys issue papers
share the churchs view www.elca.org/corporate.
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Mutual Funds vote too

• You can now ask your mutual fund annually for a
  list of how they voted on proxy issues.

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Mutual Funds vote too

• You might write your mutual fund to ask them to
  vote a certain way. One study on this is
  www.ceres.org/newsroom/press/mutual_funds_rep_120
  704.htm
• CERES has prepared a study on proxy voting for
  climate change resolutions.

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Im confused, where do I start?

• Keep up to date on all of the issues
• Sign up on the shareholders network
  www.elca.org/corporate
• Join and be a part of e-Advocacy
  www.elca.org/advocacy

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I can also join list serves, such as

• Oxfam www.oxfam.org
• Co-op America www.coopamerica.org
• CERES www.ceres.org
• Campaign for Labor Rights www.campaignforlaborri
  ghts.org
• Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org
• Coalition for Justice in the Macquiladoras
  www.coalitionforjustice.net

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I can ask my congregation, agency, school

• How money decisions are made
• Who and how they are voting proxies
• Where they are invested

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and

• Talk about money and what kinds of statements you
  want to make with it
• Decide on a plan to do one new thing to walk the
  talk