Fuelling positive change: NCVO launches campaign to encourage charities to consider divestment

NCVO today launches a sector-wide campaign encouraging charities across the voluntary sector to think about divesting from fossil fuels.

Fuelling Positive Change calls on charities to consider moving investments away from businesses involved in the extraction, production, transportation, refining and marketing of fossil fuels. Examples of these are coal, tar sands, oil and gas.

Fossil fuels are the largest contributor to climate change, accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

The aim of the campaign is to encourage charities to join in sending a powerful message that fossil fuels are unsustainable and could harm our people, our places, and see the widening of inequalities in communities around the world.

The campaign will also highlight the financial and reputational risks of investing in fossil fuels.

Since 2012, more than 1,500 institutions globally, from a range of sectors, have committed to divesting from fossil fuels, and more than 360 current and former MPs from across parties have backed a campaign calling for the MPs’ pension scheme to be divested from fossil fuels. The Church of England recently decided to divest its £10.3bn endowment fund and £3.2bn pension scheme

Amnesty International UK, Christian Aid, Civic Power Fund, Friends of the Earth EWNI, NCVO, Pilotlight, Quakers, Save the Children, Sense International have all signed up to the campaign. NCVO divested from direct investment in fossil fuels earlier this year.

NCVO will provide guidance, key terms and templates to help charities understand the purpose of divestment and the divestment process:

• Charity investment guide – step-by-step guidance to help your board consider divestment.
• Guidance for charities who are fossil-free – learn how charities without fossil fuel investments can support the campaign
• Climate, financial and environmental terms – explanations for key terms on climate change, the environment and finances.
• Communications pack – information, templates and graphics to help charities promote their support for the campaign

Over the autumn, NCVO will also host a series of events to explore the role of charities in tackling climate change and help charities uncover what actions they can consider to divest from fossil fuels.

• Visit our divestment campaign content
• Sign up for campaign updates
• Keep a look out for upcoming events on this campaign
• Follow our campaign on LinkedIn and Twitter and use the hashtag #FuellingPositiveChange