S Kalyana Ramanathan / London August 05, 2009
UK-based metals major Vedanta Resources came under more pressure as it was revealed today that one of its group companies, Balco, is a supplier of refined aluminum to the Indian defence sector. This information is now being used by human rights campaigners to urge investors like the Church of England to divest from Vedanta Resources to keep in line with the church’s policy of not investing in companies that are involved in any way in armament production.
Vedanta Resources was already under immense pressure from human rights and environmental groups to abandon its plans to mine at the Niyamgiri mountains in Orissa for bauxite (to extract aluminium). The dig site is considered a sacred ground by the local Dongria Kondh community and has attracted support from conservationists from across the world.
Now The Guardian has reported that a group company, Balco, is a supplier of refined aluminium to the Indian nuclear programme, which comes as a direct conflict to the investment policies of religious bodies like the Church of England.
Meredith Alexander, head of trade and corporates at ActionAid and who was quoted in this report, said: “Vedanta’s commitment to sustainable development becomes ever more laughable. The news that Vedanta provides raw materials for weapons systems is outrageous. This is just another reason why investors should take a hard look at their holdings in Vedanta. The Church of England, for example, state that they will not invest in defence companies. Vedanta’s involvement in missile production surely makes their investment even more controversial.”
An unnamed Vedanta spokesperson was quoted in the report as defending the company by stating that his company was not involved in making weapons but supplying basic raw material, which can be used by many industries and not just the armament industry.
Last week, following protests by activists outside the venue where Vedanta held the annual general meeting of its shareholders, the Church of England agreed to review its investment in the company, which to date is valued at £2.5 million. The church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) is now planning to meet the management of Vedanta to assess its status and to see if its investment contradicts its stated policies.
Apart from the armament business, the church also refrains from any investment in businesses that are involved in pornography, tobacco or breweries (alcohol). The EIAG is not expected to meet the Vedanta management before September this year. Balco came to be owned by Sterlite Industries in 2001 (which is in turn owned by Vedanta Resources) and supplies aluminium alloys for India’s key missile programmes, including the Agni, Prithvi and the Akaash.
Showing posts with label Dongria Kondh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dongria Kondh. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Church of England to meet Vedanta management on Niyamgiri
S Kalyana Ramanathan / London July 30, 2009
A persistent campaign by activists to stop metals major Vedanta Resources from mining in Orissa’s Niyamgiri mountains for bauxite got a boost today. The Church of England, that has invested in the company’s stocks, said its representatives will meet Vedanta’s management to discuss the issues raised by human rights campaigners.
Among other things, the Dongria Kondh tribals at Niyamgiri consider the mountain and the surrounding forests as their sacred land, their culture and way of life tied in these. There are also various ecological issues in allowing mining to take place there.
Earlier this week, campaigners from several not-for-profit organisations camped outside the venue where Vedanta held its annual general meeting of shareholders and protested the company’s plans at Niyamgiri. They were urging bodies like the Church of England and local councils (like theMiddlesbrough Borough Council) to divest from Vedanta.
“The independent Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) advises the three national investing bodies of the Church of England, namely the Church Commissioners, the Church of England Pensions Board and the Central Board of Finance Church Funds. Each body is responsible for its own investment policies, but they are advised by the EIAG, which develops and coordinates ethical investment policy. It offers practical ethical investment advice in a theological context and seeks to promote high standards of corporate behaviour and the principles of integrity, accountability and transparency in corporate life. The EIAG has now met one of the tribal representatives and campaigners on their behalf, and hopes also to meet Vedanta’s management, to discuss the controversial bauxite project in Orissa,” said Louis Henderson, a spokesperson for the Church, to Business Standard.
Th Church’s investment in Vedanta stock is relatively small,at £2.5 million, but a divestment would be a powerfully symbolic gesture and a massive victory for campaigners. Earlier last year, when the Norwegian government withdrew its sovereign pension fund’s $13.2 million investment from Vedanta, it had a profound impact, so much so that the Supreme Court in India cited this action in one of its recent rulings.
The Church of England’s total investment portfolio is in excess of £7 billion. Church investors use their influence as shareholders to improve corporate behaviour. For certain sensitive industries, such as mining companies, the EIAG has a three-year monitoring and engagement process.
The Church is also selective about where its money is invested. “As a rule we do not invest in certain businesses like pornography, tobacco, breweries (alcohol) and armaments,” said Henderson. The Church, he said, looks beyond basic criteria and ensures that even apparently good businesses are conducted ethically. There has been one instance in the past where even though the business was clean, the Church had to pull out its investment on ethical grounds, he said. “After having tried to influence for the better, if we don’t succeed, we divest,” Henderson stated.
In law, the primary duty of trustees, including the Church of England’s central investing bodies, is to produce a good financial return on the investments for their beneficiaries. But, ethical considerations are rigorously taken into account in keeping with the Church’s Christian values, he
“During nearly 30 years of campaigning for the defence of human rights, protection of the environment and the rights of indigenous people, I have seen at first hand the devastating effect that many mining, logging, oil and gas communities have caused to the environment and to communities all over the world, particularly in the developing world,” declared Bianca Jagger, who is spearheading the campaign against Vedanata’s Orissa plans in the UK. “These companies act in the interests of financial gain, rather than the interests of the communities where they operate. These corporations must be held accountable for their actions. They have a duty to conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner. They cannot be allowed to cut off the livelihood of local inhabitants, to commit terrible environmental and human rights violations, and to endanger the livelihood of future generations.”
A persistent campaign by activists to stop metals major Vedanta Resources from mining in Orissa’s Niyamgiri mountains for bauxite got a boost today. The Church of England, that has invested in the company’s stocks, said its representatives will meet Vedanta’s management to discuss the issues raised by human rights campaigners.
Among other things, the Dongria Kondh tribals at Niyamgiri consider the mountain and the surrounding forests as their sacred land, their culture and way of life tied in these. There are also various ecological issues in allowing mining to take place there.
Earlier this week, campaigners from several not-for-profit organisations camped outside the venue where Vedanta held its annual general meeting of shareholders and protested the company’s plans at Niyamgiri. They were urging bodies like the Church of England and local councils (like theMiddlesbrough Borough Council) to divest from Vedanta.
“The independent Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) advises the three national investing bodies of the Church of England, namely the Church Commissioners, the Church of England Pensions Board and the Central Board of Finance Church Funds. Each body is responsible for its own investment policies, but they are advised by the EIAG, which develops and coordinates ethical investment policy. It offers practical ethical investment advice in a theological context and seeks to promote high standards of corporate behaviour and the principles of integrity, accountability and transparency in corporate life. The EIAG has now met one of the tribal representatives and campaigners on their behalf, and hopes also to meet Vedanta’s management, to discuss the controversial bauxite project in Orissa,” said Louis Henderson, a spokesperson for the Church, to Business Standard.
Th Church’s investment in Vedanta stock is relatively small,at £2.5 million, but a divestment would be a powerfully symbolic gesture and a massive victory for campaigners. Earlier last year, when the Norwegian government withdrew its sovereign pension fund’s $13.2 million investment from Vedanta, it had a profound impact, so much so that the Supreme Court in India cited this action in one of its recent rulings.
The Church of England’s total investment portfolio is in excess of £7 billion. Church investors use their influence as shareholders to improve corporate behaviour. For certain sensitive industries, such as mining companies, the EIAG has a three-year monitoring and engagement process.
The Church is also selective about where its money is invested. “As a rule we do not invest in certain businesses like pornography, tobacco, breweries (alcohol) and armaments,” said Henderson. The Church, he said, looks beyond basic criteria and ensures that even apparently good businesses are conducted ethically. There has been one instance in the past where even though the business was clean, the Church had to pull out its investment on ethical grounds, he said. “After having tried to influence for the better, if we don’t succeed, we divest,” Henderson stated.
In law, the primary duty of trustees, including the Church of England’s central investing bodies, is to produce a good financial return on the investments for their beneficiaries. But, ethical considerations are rigorously taken into account in keeping with the Church’s Christian values, he
“During nearly 30 years of campaigning for the defence of human rights, protection of the environment and the rights of indigenous people, I have seen at first hand the devastating effect that many mining, logging, oil and gas communities have caused to the environment and to communities all over the world, particularly in the developing world,” declared Bianca Jagger, who is spearheading the campaign against Vedanata’s Orissa plans in the UK. “These companies act in the interests of financial gain, rather than the interests of the communities where they operate. These corporations must be held accountable for their actions. They have a duty to conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner. They cannot be allowed to cut off the livelihood of local inhabitants, to commit terrible environmental and human rights violations, and to endanger the livelihood of future generations.”
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