ceig

CHRISTIAN ETHICAL
INVESTMENT GROUP


Being an ethical investor means using your money not only for profit but also for improving the condition of the world we live in.

"The ultimate purpose of industry is, I believe, to serve our fellow human beings by creating goods and services to meet their needs. It is not to make money for its own sake"
George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury

If you agree please join us to make this vision a reality.

 

What are Investments?

  • Pension funds
  • Privatisation and other shares
  • Endowment policies
  • Life assurance
  • Land available for development
  • Cash deposits at the Bank or Building Society
  • Savings plans
  • Church funds

What is Ethical Investment?

It is being interested in the way your investments are used and ensuring that profits are made in ways of which you approve.

Ethical investors believe that they cannot accept the profits of investments without taking some of the responsibility for the way those profits are made.

It may mean avoiding certain areas of investment, such as armaments, gambling or supporting repressive regimes.

It may mean positively preferring companies with a good record on safety, wages and conditions of work, or those which have sound environmental policies.

It may mean raising these issues at meetings of shareholders.

The products and services provided by companies, as well as the ways they produce and market them, come under the scrutiny of the ethical investor.

What is the Christian Ethical Investment Group?

The CEIG is an independent voluntary body formed in 1988 to promote Ethical Investment within the Church of England. We are now committed to serve all churches and to help individuals, both within and outside the churches, who wish to discover and put into practice ethical investment.

How does the CEIG operate?

We have an active and growing membership, we hold meetings regularly and publish a newsletter. We work alongside those in investment and social responsibility departments of the churches, seeking to ensure investments are made on the basis of the needs of society and the environment and not for profit alone.

What does the CEIG believe?

Accepting Christ as Lord of all life means participating responsibly in the creation and sharing of wealth.

We are responsible to God for his creation, and are called to be good stewards of its resources.

The creation of wealth by individuals and groups is a just and good aim, as is investment in the work of others.

We have a duty to use our investments and resources to help meet human needs as well as create profit.

What are the objects of the CEIG?

  1. To promote awareness and study of ethical investment issues within Christian Churches and organisations in Britain and Ireland. This to be both by individual church members and by congregations, parishes, dioceses, national bodies and other equivalent structures.
  2. To encourage the development of clearly stated theologically based ethical investment policies by Church bodies with financial investment responsibilities.
  3. To promote personal and corporate responsibility through the active and responsible use of shareholder action and other appropriate ways in order to encourage a Christian approach to business and economic activity.

More Information

Available from

CEIG
90 Booker Avenue
Bradwell Common
Milton Keynes
MK13 8EF
Tel/Fax 01908 677466

The CEIG publishes a number of books as well as a regular newsletter.

Our Best Interest, Guidelines for Ethical Investment 1992 £7.50

Charity Trustees and Investment Ethics 1996 £3.50
Guidelines for those making Ethical Investment decisions.

Investing for the Future £2.00
Report of a Conference on Ethical Investment

Membership

Annual Subscriptions

All members are encouraged to raise issues at the local level in church meetings and synods and as Trustees of charities.

Individual £10

Anyone who has an interest in the objects, whether a member of a church or not, can be a member of CEIG.

Corporate £50

Any financial institution or other corporate body having an interest in the objects can be a corporate member.

Does the CEIG give specific advice on investment in particular companies?

No.

It leaves these decisions to individuals and the official bodies of the churches.

Who else is working in this field?

The CEIG cooperates closely with the Ethical Investment Research Service (EIRIS) and the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR). It is a member of the United Kingdom Social Investment Forum (UKSIF).

Links to these and many other sites of interest can be found at arq.

We hope to provide a comprehensive set of links to similar web sites in thr future. If you know of any, please tell us.

How is the CEIG organised?

The Executive Committee is elected to serve for two years by members at the Annual General Meeting according to the Constitution.

The principal officers are at present:

Chair Mr Mike Tyrrell BD. ACA
Hon. Treasurer Mrs Rosemary Rymer BSc PGCE
Hon. Secretary Canon Bill Whiffen MA
Coordinator for RITES Barbara Hayes
(Religious Investors Taking Ethics Seriously)

Until our email address is working properly you may contact us via one of our other committee members, Brigid Benson.

Patrons

  • The Right Reverend Michael Bourke, Bishop of Wolverhampton (C of E)
  • The Reverend Anthony G Burnham, General Secretary of the United Reformed Church
  • The Right Reverend Michael Doe, Bishop of Swindon (C of E)
  • The Reverend Dr Leslie Griffiths, Superintendent Minister, Wesley's Chapel (Methodist)
  • The Right Reverend Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford (C of E)
  • The Right Reverend Crispian Hollis, Bishop of Portsmouth (RC)
  • The Reverend Michael Taylor, Director, Christian Aid (Baptist)
© Christian Ethical Investment Group, 1997