Background
The earth is a planet of beauty and abundance; the earth system is
wonderfully intricate and incredibly complex. But today living
creatures, and the air, soil and water that support them, face
unprecedented threats. Many threats are global: most stem directly
from human activity (“Caring for Creation,” 2.B-1)
[1]. As Christians, we understand human
beings as fundamentally responsible before God. With the reach of
our contemporary human knowledge and the power we employ in new
technologies, this responsibility in terms of caring for creation
now includes the global future itself. Central to that question is
the threat posed by global warming and climate change.
These threats and changes were first summarized in the findings of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 Synthesis
Report [2], which concludes that there is
an increasing body of observations that gives a collective picture
of a warming world and other changes in the climate system. Examples
include rising surface temperatures, snow and ice melts, rising sea
levels, and changes in weather patterns, such as drought, flooding,
and monsoons. This is reinforced in the 2007 report
[3] from the IPCC.In April of 2007, CERES
published a report, the Quiet Revolution in Business Reporting
[4] which summarized the key factors that
are converging calling for companies to move this issue to a
prominent place on their agendas and report on it in a more
transparent manner.
ELCA Social Policy
“Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice” (ELCA, 1993): The
social statement develops this church’s vision of creation, while
showing us the gift of hope. It calls us to justice through
principles of participation, solidarity, sufficiency, and
sustainability. Specifically this social statement calls the church
to engage in dialogue with corporations on how to promote justice
for creation (5.E.1-1). This includes dialogues around implementing
comprehensive environmental principles, healthy environments, and
cooperation between the public and private sector regarding
sustainability.
In addition, the Churchwide Assembly in 2001 reaffirmed the
commitment of this church to the care of creation, including global
warming, as part of the web of complex interwoven environmental
concerns (Assembly Action CA01.07.57).
Corporate Response
It has become accepted practice for a company to begin this work by
evaluating and reporting on their greenhouse gas emissions and total
“footprint” (how much does their product emit, how their delivery
process operates, who their suppliers are) and by setting targets
for decreasing their emissions and moving toward renewable
technologies. In addition, the company can review their probable
risk exposure to financial and competitive consequences of climate
change. They can ensure that they have sufficient expertise to make
informed and responsible decisions and benchmark themselves within
their own industry sector. Climate change strategies and strategic
alliances can be built into an overall business plan thus preparing
the company for success in the future.
Social Criteria Investment Screens
The energy and environment social criteria investment screen
approved by the ELCA in 1990 and updated in 2007 responds to this
issue.
http://www.elca.org/advocacy/corporate/environmental.asp
Resolution Guidelines for ELCA
- We support reports on greenhouse gas footprints, as well as
the establishments of targets for their reduction.
- We support disclosure of the economic risks associated with
past, present, and future emissions.
- We support reports on economic benefits of committing to a
substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and a
reduction of product emissions.
- We support reports on public policies that enable and assist
achievement of these emission targets.
- We support reports on economic risks associated with
exposure to the myriad of pending and adopted legislation from
state, regional, and international bodies as it relates to
reduction of greenhouse gases.
- We support reports on increased energy efficiency and
conservation.
- We support requests to adopt quantitative goals to reduce
future emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxide and heavy metals such as mercury.
[1]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Caring for Creation: Vision,
Hope, and Justice. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Publishers,
1993.
http://www.elca.org/socialstatements/environment/
[2] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change
2001: Synthesis Report. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press,
2001.
http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/
[3] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate
Change 2007 – The Physical Science Basis. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press, 2007. U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. Global Warming-Climate. USA: U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency website, 2003.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/
ClimateFutureClimateUSClimate.html
[4] White, Allen, Ph.D. The Quiet Revolution in Business
Reporting. Boston, MA: Ceres, 2007.
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