In this section you can find some of the public campaigns that we are supporting from the Justice in Mining network. Some of them are initiatives launched by our member organisations or other Jesuit Institutions, others are the result of networking with other global civil society organisations. In the following sections you will find information about the causes and links of interest that we hope will be useful.
“Many of those who possess more resources and economic or political power seem mostly to be concerned with masking the problems or concealing their symptoms, simply making efforts to reduce some of the negative impacts of climate change….There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.”
– Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 24 May 2015
The Catholic Church has long recognised the importance of business being consistent with the gospel values and social teachings of the Church. One way in which consistency can be achieved is through ethical investment.
Ethical Investment describes a range of activities that seek to combine the financial objectives of investment with wider concerns about environmental and social issues. These activities include:
- Impact Investing – is investment in banks, deposit taking institutions, and finance companies that offer financial products with explicit social aim to people, community organisations and social enterprises. Examples could include community finance loans to a social enterprise.
- Economic and Social Governance Integration – is where investors factor environmental and social issues into investment decisions, usually through the incorporation of environmental and social risk analysis into financial analysis.
- Screening & Divestment – is the deliberate inclusion or exclusion of investments in companies or sectors based on moral, ethical or religious concerns. Exclusion can be absolute or involve some form of trade-offs.
- Shareholder Advocacy – includes both engagement with companies by shareholders on environmental and social issues and the filing of resolutions on significant issues.
A number of Catholic organisations, including Jesuit institutions, have publicly stated an intention to divest from fossil fuels. We would like to invite you to read their statements and learn more about the recent campaigns on divestment launched by different faith based movements. Following their example, we can all together make a difference.
Divestment initiatives by Jesuit institutions:
- Fossil Fuels Divestment Continues Georgetown’s Commitment to Sustainability, February 6, 2020
- Jesuit Province of Britain Announces Fossil Fuel Divestment, February 26, 2020
- Italian Jesuits Join Largest Catholic Divestment From Fossil Fuel, May 15 2017
- Jesuit Province of English Canada Joins Catholic Institutions Around The World In Divesting from Fossil Fuel Extraction, October 26, 2016
Current campaigns on Divestment by faith based movements:
- Global Catholic Movement – Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign
- Red Iglesias y Minería – Campaña Desinversión en Minería
The Justice in Mining network plans to collect and share examples of ethical investment approaches by Jesuit organisations. If you belong to a Jesuit institution that has developed such a policy, and are willing to share it, please get in touch via the Contact page.
The aim of this campaign is to break the links between the exploitation and illicit trade of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold – also referred as 3TGs among experts and legislators or informally identified as “conflict minerals” by the public – and the human right abuses in conflict zones and high risks areas, such as eastern DR Congo or Colombia.
Initially launched in 2014 by ALBOAN, a jesuit international NGO from Spain, today it’s being supported by other member organisations of the Xavier Network in Europe, such us Uk Jesuit Missions UK, Magis Italy and the Jesuit European Social Centre.
The Conflict Free Technology Campaign is deeply rooted in the Catholic Social Teaching and promotes the idea of social and environmental justice. It offers educational resources and advocacy toolkits to:
- raise awareness of our responsibility as consumers of electronic devices with the communities that suffer the social and environmental impacts of mining;
- promote responsible consumption practices and alternatives to the “throwaway culture” in the field of electronics;
- push for an strong EU Regulation on responsible sourcing of minerals coming from conflict affected and high risk areas
If you want to join the movement and act at the individual, communitarian and institutional level, check the website www.tecnologialibredeconflicto.org