Banks and finance have a crucial role to play in responding to the climate crisis. Every loan and investment impacts our communities, environment, and economic future, for better or for worse.* 

In response to this, and as part of Good Money Week, Operation Noah recently co-hosted a webinar with Just Money Movement and A Rocha to explore how churches can take action to connect their finances with care for creation.

Primarily aimed at Eco churches, the webinar explored practical steps that churches can take, like choosing a greener bank account, investing in climate solutions and getting congregations involved in campaigning for a greener, fairer financial system.

The recently updated Eco Church survey has a number of questions relating to how churches manage and use money, from banking to investments. Helen Stephens of A Rocha introduced some of the recent updates while Rosie Venner from Just Money Movement spoke about some of the ways churches can take action, particularly through switching their bank accounts and cited new research on how UK banks are scoring with their ethical and fossil fuel financing.

Clare Fussell, Campaign Director at Operation Noah, spoke about how churches can use their investments to positively respond by investing in solutions that tackle the climate crisis and signing up to the Green Investment Declaration. 

Collectively, churches have a significant amount of money held in financial assets. A study by Oxford University and Said Business School in 2022 calculated the figure to be approximately £260 billion in “Christian aligned capital”. If churches and Christian institutions invested even just a small percentage of their assets in climate solutions, together we could make a significant, positive impact on the climate. 

Upcoming Webinar: Greening our Investments

To further explore how church investments can be used for the benefit of God’s creation, Operation Noah and JustMoney Movement are hosting a webinar with CCLA on green investment on Monday 3 November at 1pm where their Head of Sustainability, James Corah, will be talking about the work of CCLA in this area.  As one of the leading investment managers for churches, this is a great opportunity to speak to them directly so we encourage you to sign up and share with your treasurer.