A 23 January 2014 release announced that the Presbyterian Church’s Committee on Mission Responsibility through Investment found Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions ‘not in compliance with General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) policy on socially responsible investing’ and that MRTI will ‘recommend to the 221st General Assembly this summer in Detroit that these corporations be added to the denomination’s divestment list until such a time as their corporate activities are found in accordance with policy.’  Read the full release here.  This decision was taken after years of corporate engagement with these corporations.  Links to the full report are here.

The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council has a Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility which also works with ecumenical and interfaith bodies on issues of corporate social responsibility.  An Executive Council resolution from 2003 Disinvestment from Military Contractors sets out clear policy.

Ten dioceses sent a resolution to The Episcopal Church’s General Convention in 2012 calling on the Church to ‘[participate] in corporate social responsibility by more vigorous and public corporate engagement with companies in the Church’s investment portfolio that do business in illegal Israeli settlements or contribute to the infrastructure of the Occupation.’  The resolution which came out of the convention included nothing on corporate engagement but encouraged ‘positive investment in the Palestinian territories.’

A subsequent resolution at the February 2013 Executive Council meeting ‘[affirmed] that it is the church’s policy to engage in constructive corporate engagement policies toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict adopted by the Executive Council in October 2005 and implemented by council Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility in the intervening years;’ and affirmed ‘that the church does not support boycott, divestment, and economic sanctions against the state of Israel nor any application of the church’s corporate engagement policies toward such ends.’

Finally to ground ourselves in our faith, we share Leon Spencer’s reflection from June 2012 making some connections between South Africa and Palestine/Israel.

The Episcopal Church has a clear policy for corporate engagement.  How may EPF PIN best act to see that these policies are implemented and work together with those charged with implementing the policies to effect movement towards peace and justice for Palestine and Israel?

EPF PIN is looking for members who have time and energy to consider how we might help The Episcopal Church to effectively implement its existing policies on corporate engagement and divestment. Email  if you are interested in working on this.