A Church’s Ethical Investing Mission Gets a Reality Check

At the London Stock Exchange, Justin Welby’s bright-white clerical collar stood out in a sea of dark bespoke suits and silk ties. Welby—the archbishop of Canterbury, 105th leader of the Church of England—had come to address representatives of global investment firms that oversee $40 trillion in assets. He was leading an initiative that used religious and financial clout, God and mammon, to push corporations to help save the planet from a climate catastrophe.

Welby was well suited for this October gathering. Before being called to the ministry, the 65-year-old cleric had worked as an oil industry executive for Elf Aquitaine in Paris and Enterprise Oil Plc in London. Now he was promoting the Transition Pathway Initiative, which would help money managers evaluate corporations’ readiness for a low-­carbon economy. “We want companies to change their actions, not merely to hear our words,” he told the crowd. BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, signed on.