We were delighted to be part of the first ever Ethical Consumer Week (24 – 30 October 2020) which explored, through a series of online talks and workshops, the role of ethical production and consumption in building more resilient communities.
Our seminar, ‘Put your money where your values are’, led by ECCR’s Rosie Venner (Money Makes Change) and Dr Justin Thacker (Church Action for Tax Justice) focused on how we can use our finances to respond to the challenges faced by our local communities and the wider world. If you’d like to watch the seminar, you can do so below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hjqzpvEQ-Y&list=PLCQvsWIM0EYPo17ALB7f5GNtniq7dvNMN&index=23&t=73s
Participants identified some of the values that are important to them, including compassion, fairness, equality and sustainability.
Using the framework of the Money Makes Change Pledge, we looked at how we could apply these values through where we bank and where our pension and savings are invested, as well as through the everyday spending decisions we make. We also thought about how we can communicate and campaign effectively, by appealing to intrinsic values like kindness and justice rather than extrinsic values based on wealth and ambition.
We asked participants what they would like to take action on and here are just a few of the responses:
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- Spend less, invest ethically, support local projects
- Divest my pension from fossil fuels
- Move and simplify all my banking away from big high street corporates, then mortgage, then children’s savings then my pension
- Try to persuade the company I work for to switch to a more ethical pension provider
Has this encouraged you to take a closer look at your finances? What values inspire you and guide your decisions and campaigning?
If you’d like to start a conversation in your church then take a look at our Money Makes Change programme and Church Action for Tax Justice resources.