- April 19, 2021 Mission Advancement
Sister Barbara Jennings explores ways to care for Earth through spirituality and responsible investment
On April 17, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet’s Kansas City Regional Mission Advancement Office held its first virtual Linger Over Breakfast event, a Saturday morning program that promises to feed your mind, body and spirit. Sister Barbara Jennings, CSJ was the featured guest speaker and presented on “Care for Creation: Spirituality and Responsible Investment.” The event was sponsored by Avila University, St. Teresa's Academy, The Ewing Kauffman Foundation and The Buchanan Institute for Peace and Nonviolence (BIPN) at Avila University.
For 12 years, Sister Barbara served as the coordinator of the Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment (MCRI), a coalition of women’s and men’s religious congregations in the St. Louis area who identified environmental, social and governance issues in corporations. Also a member of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) in New York City, the two organizations worked with local corporations such as Monsanto, Boeing, Ameren, Arch Coal and others by meeting in dialogue about clear and doable goals, writing shareholder resolutions and attending annual shareholder meetings.
In 2019, MCRI merged with the Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment (SGI). Sister Barbara remains a board member at SGI and continues to work locally and with ICCR groups on certain corporate issues such as human rights, coal ash and the environment.
In her presentation, Sister Barbara explored Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si, which calls for a “broad cultural revolution” to confront our environmental crisis. She also discussed the role of shareholders that the Sisters of St. Joseph and our founding institutions have practiced over the years, especially in light of our planet Earth.
“All of those who are able to invest should consider talking to their investment managers about environmental, social and governance issues because, as the privileged 1% who have investments, it is our duty to be socially responsible—to do the work of justice,” says Sister Barbara. “We all understand what policy work is with our governments, what it is to write a letter or send an email … it is also doing justice to write a letter or send an email to a CEO.”
Resources
Here is a list of resources provided by Sister Barbara Jennings:
Five Ways the ESG Creates Value
Questions to Ask Your Investment Manager
Trusted Investment Managers and Other Useful Information
Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si
The Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
The Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment (SGI)