‘Let’s put our money where our faith is’ was the closing refrain of last Tuesday’s Catholic Green Investment Roundtable, hosted by Operation Noah in London. 

It was a fitting rallying cry after a morning of inspiration, practical action and prayer shared by the Catholic financial decision-makers present, who represented a wide range of religious orders, dioceses and NGOs. 

The roundtable came out of a growing understanding that Churches and Christian institutions hold significant influence and financial power, and can use that power to invest more in tackling the climate crisis.

At a time when worrying developments on the global stage make the rapid transition away from fossil fuels seem a lot less certain, Christian institutions have a key role to play both in speaking out for climate action as well as helping to fund a greener future. Operation Noah is currently developing a new toolkit for Catholic Investors to take bold, practical action in living out the values of Mensuram Bonum, which was published in 2022 by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and which set out ways for Catholic investors to consider whether their assets are being managed in a manner that is consistent with their faith. 

Inspiration and action
Following some scene-setting and introductions from Operation Noah’s Clare Fussell and Bokani Tshidzu, the first speaker of the day was Dr Martin Poulsom, an Operation Noah trustee who is also a Catholic brother, lecturer and theologian based at the University of Roehampton.

Martin spoke about the role that Catholic Social Tradition has had in integrating magisterial teaching, learning and action in a positive feedback loop, and applied this to the Church’s environmental responsibilities.

Josephine Carlsson, speaking in her role as Secretary of the Church Investors Group, which brings together 67 church and religious bodies, introduced the latest guidance for stewards in working with their investment managers to ensure that their investments promoted their organisation’s ethical and sustainability aims.

Providing a frank and inspirational example of how this can work in practice was John O’Shaughnessy, CFO of the religious order Franciscan Sisters of Mary, based in North America. John shared his considerable experience of building a community of practice among like-minded organisations and investment managers and how this group has channeled funds into innovative and impactful climate solutions. John also gave practical advice gleaned from over 30 years of investing for impact, particularly for climate impact.

Building a community of practice
Robust discussion ensued, with topics ranging from barriers faith investors encounter when pressing for climate-aligned investments, to steps Catholic communities can take to drive forward green investment.

One idea raised on the day was whether those in the room could fund a coordinator role to support Catholic investors – whether that be dioceses, orders, or individuals – to more effectively advocate for green investment opportunities. Also discussed was the question of return on investment, and how to balance the need to generate certain financial returns with the need to take bold action to address the climate crisis.

Boldness was a theme returned to time and again throughout the morning, and one financial director raised a smile as he resolved, with fist held high, to go back to his finance board and ‘be much bolder’ in pushing for greater green investment. After all, we know that finance will play a huge role in enabling the world to transition to net zero; yet we are well short of the investment needed, and time is running out. 

The Roundtable closed with an invitation to join the Green Investment Declaration as part of a wider movement of faith institutions taking financial action on the climate crisis. This initiative brings together Christian investors from the local church level to denominational level, all committed to investing in climate solutions.

Just as many denominations chose to divest from fossil fuels, the Catholic church can act prophetically, show moral leadership and take positive action to invest in climate solutions and influence others to do likewise.