Promoting justice through ‘Corporate Responsibility’

In these days, when corporate decision-making is often harmful to the common good, how do the Sisters of Providence manage financial investments?

We strive to invest our corporate money in a socially responsible manner in order to have a positive impact on the planet and on humanity.

The Corporate Responsibility Committee consists of Sisters of Providence and lay members who recommend actions and strategies to the General Council and to the Trustees regarding investments that promote Gospel social principles.

The Sisters of Providence direct investment managers to seek to identify socially responsible holdings with the potential for positive return and to move investments of the Congregation and of the Sisters of Providence community Support Trust as such changes become feasible.

The following are our current screens:

Negative Screens:

• Corporations that are known to be discriminatory in areas of race, religion, gender, ethnic/cultural background, disability or sexual orientation,

• Corporations that produce or sell military weapons or firearms,

• Corporations that discourage collective bargaining among employees,

• Corporations that benefit from for-profit prisons, mass incarceration, capital punishment or immigration detention centers,

• Corporations whose practices are known to be detrimental to the environment,

• Corporations that use sweatshop labor or otherwise abuse employees in the production of goods and services, and

• Corporations that engage in predatory lending practices.

Positive Screens:

• Corporations that engage in the development and implementation of green technologies,

• Corporations that engage in initiatives that contribute to improved conditions for women, especially in developing nations,

• Corporations that strive to make a positive impact on housing, health care and other services that improve the quality of life for the under-served,

• Corporations that engage in practices or policies intended to eliminate human trafficking, and

• Corporations that are known to be proactive in the hiring and advancement of women and minorities.

Each of us has purchasing power in our everyday lives. Even individuals and families have some purchasing power.

We invite you to share one or more ways you use your purchasing power to make a positive difference in the world.