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Our Purpose:
The Pension Boards houses the UCC's Office of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The CSR Office assists the Covenanted Ministries, United Church Foundation, and The Pension Boards--and those they serve--achieve greater harmony between their economic resources and the policies and programs of the Church. Within this cooperative framework, the Office of CSR identifies and recommends appropriate and effective faith-based investment strategies and related activities with three distinct perspectives.
- Through The Pension Boards, the CSR Office serves employees of the Church
- Through the United Church Foundation, the CSR Office serves institutions of the Church
- Through the Covenanted Ministries, the CSR Office serves members of the Church
At times the scope, nature, and participation of CSR-related actions can be affected by the differences in the mission, purpose, and distinct fiduciary responsibilities of the respective National Ministries.
The Pension Boards fulfills its commitment to CSR through various approaches of faith-based investing, also referred to as socially responsible investing (SRI). Social screening, the practice of including or excluding companies from a portfolio based on non-financial criteria, is typically considered the baseline of many institutional investors' faith-based investing programs. The Pension Board's investment policy calls for the avoidance of companies that derive a significant portion of their revenues from the manufacture, sale, or distribution of alcohol, tobacco, and gambling products or services.
However, the majority of The Pension Boards' faith-based investment activities are through shareholder activism--including both social and corporate governance issues. As shareholders, we can influence the policies and behavior of a company in which we hold stock through engagement in constructive dialogue with companies in our holdings over areas of concern and through monitoring emerging shareholder issues each year, and actively voting each company's proxy statement in a manner that supports our social and corporate governance standards.
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