Mission Responsibility Through Investment sees all its GA227 overtures related to climate and human rights sail through on the assembly’s consent agenda

LOUISVILLE — Commissioners to the 227^th General Assembly used the consent agenda to approve every item of business related to Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI). In addition, all of MRTI’s recommendations passed without amendment last month in either the Financial Stewardship and Witness Committee or the Climate and Environmental Justice Committee.

According to Katie Carter, Director of Faith-Based Investing and Shareholder Engagement in Presbyterian Life & Witness, and Simon Doong, Associate for Corporate, Community & Church Engagement, the “biggest area of follow-up from this assembly” is related to CLJ-02, “On Changing Course for a Green Future” from the Presbytery of Susquehanna Valley, which calls on the denomination’s investing agencies to undertake the orderly removal of investments from all companies whose primary business is fossil fuels. The investing agencies are to report on their progress to the next two assemblies through MRTI.

“MRTI has heard the calls through the years to address the urgency of the climate crisis and applauds the 227^th General Assembly for taking prophetic action to both affirm MRTI’s process and continue with additional ‘haste’ to undertake the orderly removal of investments from all companies whose primary business is based on the extraction, refinement, transport or sale of fossil fuels, with the goal of fully completing divestment by 2030,” said the Rev. Marcella Glass, chair of the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment. “MRTI will discern how best to move forward with these broader divestment recommendations, in close partnership with the investing agencies of the church, to ensure we provide recommendations that meet the directive while adhering to their fiduciary responsibilities.”

On other items, MRTI will add companies named for selective divestment (ConocoPhillips, Duke Energy, GE Aerospace and Palantir Technologies) to the divestment/proscription list for 2027 and update the military and weapons screen as outlined below. MRTI will also release an officially updated document with the approved changes to the 1984 Divestment Policy.

Environmental issues

CLJ-01 is the approval of MRTI’s environmental report, including selective divestment from ConocoPhillips and Duke Energy. It adds AES Resources and EOG Resources to MRTI’s engagement list.

Among other requirements, CLJ-02 calls on all PC(USA)-related fiduciaries to seek suitable opportunities in renewable energy sectors that meet established ethical and risk-return criteria. It directs MRTI to continue and expand the church’s stockholder advocacy efforts to resist lending and insurance institution practices as directed in the “Green Future” policy adopted by the 225^th General Assembly (2022). It also encourages all ministry areas in Presbyterian Life & Witness to advocate for a just global transition away from fossil fuels and toward ethically produced renewable sources of energy, and to stand with local communities who suffer either from the harms of the fossil fuel industry and climate injustice or from the dislocation of the energy transition.

CLJ-05 is the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy’s “Intent, Effect Haste: Ethical Guidance on Fossil Fuels.” It outlines the nuanced use of fossil fuels in society while urging the church to pursue the quickest and most efficient transition away from the production, distribution and use of fossil fuels. Carter said the policy “provides helpful clarity to inform MRTI’s advocacy with fossil fuel companies while giving the [MRTI] committee enough flexibility to be strategic in when and how it chooses to engage versus making selective divestment recommendations.”

Human rights issues

FIN-07 is the approval of the selective divestments from Palantir and GE Aerospace due to their products and services being connected to human rights violations.

“Despite our engagement, both companies continue to provide products or services to customers that are credibly accused of human rights or international humanitarian law violations with no sign of slowing down or changing course,” Glass said. “We believe continued shareholder engagement will not change this.”

“We pray that this action motivates both companies to take a hard look at their connections to human rights violations and end these practices,” Glass added.

FIN-02, which approves updating the military and weapons screen, “moves the screen from a revenue-based screen to a conduct-based screen” to “better identify companies connected to human rights violations,” Doong said. “MRTI will work with our research partners at the Heartland Initiative to implement the screen as soon as possible.”

Divestment process

With the passage of FIN-03, the 1984 Divestment Policy Task Force Report gained approval, adding minor adjustments to reflect changes in the investment world and PC(USA) social witness policy since 1984.

In limited cases where potential engagement is deemed by MRTI as not likely to be successful and all other criteria for divestment are met, a company may be added to the GA Divestment/Proscription list upon approval by the General Assembly without the engagement normally required.

Any divestment recommendation approved by the General Assembly, whether for a single company or a sector of companies, must be referred to MRTI. In such cases, MRTI will ensure that the other criteria of the 1984 policy are met and will work collaboratively with the prohibited securities policies of the PC(USA)’s investing agencies.