14th of November, 2019
The EIRIS Foundation is pleased to introduce a new tool for charities to help them better align their money with their mission. The Charity Ethical Money Action Plan is intended to help charities and foundations navigate the process of establishing and implementing policies and processes which enable them to use the power of their money and their influence on the financial system to build a more sustainable world.
The EIRIS Foundation strongly believes that charities have an influential role to play in shaping a more sustainable financial system. By considering all aspects of their own finances and ensuring they are investing and saving responsibly and to further their mission, charities can truly put their money where their mouth is and help others to do the same. Sustainable and responsible Investment is a positive, forward‐looking strategy for charity investment that can reap significant mission‐related, reputational and financial benefits while complementing the voluntary sector’s fundamental objective of building a fairer society.
The Action Plan currently focuses on four key areas for charities to consider:
Portfolio & products – Do you consider ethical, environmental and social factors when choosing where your money is invested and/or saved?
Pension– Have you incorporated your organisation’s values and mission-related considerations into your choice of employee pension fund/s?
People – Do you use your voice to help others, particularly your employees and supporters/members, understand that their finances can have a positive impact on society and the environment?
Partnerships – Do your partnerships, both with corporates and others, align with your values and ethics and help to further your overall mission and charitable purpose?
The EIRIS Foundation is looking to consult with charities, foundations and other stakeholders about the current version of the Plan until the 31st of January 2020. Please visit www.eirisfoundation.org/charities for further details about the Action Plan and how to respond to the consultation.
Lisa Stonestreet, Head of Communications and Charity Impact at the EIRIS Foundation, said:
“We are not launching the plan as a finalised document because we want to incorporate as much feedback from charities as possible into the Plan and the associated resources we aim to provide. The aim is for charities to use the Plan to review and publish where they are with each of these areas where relevant to them. We know that many charities are concerned about this area and have already made progress in terms of thinking about a variety of ethical and responsible investment issues for example but they want to do more and they want to be more vocal about what they are doing.”
-ENDS-
Contact: Lisa Stonestreet email. [email protected] tel. 020 3752 575
About the EIRIS Foundation
The EIRIS Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales working in the area of responsible investment. The Foundation has over 30 years’ experience of providing free and objective information on ethical finance and corporate activity to other charities and the public.
Its mission is to use research, analysis and influence to identify gaps, barriers, opportunities and enablers so that we can help organisations and individuals maximise their contribution to the responsible business and investment agenda. For more information please visit: www.eirisfoundation.org.