Benedictine sisters use investment to promote corporate responsibility

Benedictine sisters from Kansas in the United States buy corporate shares, not just to make money. What is investment activism?

Among the most persistent corporate activists in the United States are 80 nuns from a convent near Kansas City. The Benedictine sisters from Mount St. Scholastica have taken on companies like Google, Target, and Citigroup. They call on the most prominent companies to undertake socially responsible and environmentally friendly actions.

Sister Barbara McCracken, who runs the nuns' corporate responsibility program, told euronews.com: "Some of these companies, they just really hate us." In 2004, the sisters from Mount St. Scholastica joined the Benedictine Coalition for Responsible Investment, an umbrella group led by Sister Susan Mika, a nun from a Texas convent who has worked in this field since the 1980s.

Until the 1990s, the Benedictine sisters did not engage in investing. This changed when they started saving and investing money for the care of elderly sisters. Sister Rose Marie Stallbaumer, who was the community's treasurer for many years, explained, We decided it was really important to do it in a responsible way. We wanted to be sure that we weren't just collecting money to help ourselves at the detriment of others."

By investing even small amounts in stocks, the Benedictine sisters join the company shareholders' ranks, giving them the right to, among other things, ask questions, submit proposals, and speak at shareholder meetings. The sisters asked energy giant Chevron to explain its human rights policy and Amazon to disclose its lobbying expenses. They also urged Netflix to implement a more detailed code of ethics to ensure non-discrimination and diversity on the board.

The Benedictine sisters proposed to several pharmaceutical companies to reconsider patent practices that might raise drug prices. Their resolutions rarely pass; even if they do, they are generally not binding. However, they are a tool for the nuns to educate and raise awareness within corporations. In many companies with stakes, support for their initiatives grows over time.

At the heart of what the sisters from Mount St. Scholastica do is the belief that the rich have too much, and the poor have too little, and more should be shared for the benefit of all. In Catholic terms: for the common good. Sister McCracken justified the nuns' activist investments: "To me, it's a continuation of Catholic social teaching." McCracken joined the Benedictine community in 1961. She describes herself as an "odd extrovert" in convent life who "hates to miss a party."

Other nuns spoke about her involvement in anti-war, anti-racist, and supporting labor union activism. At nearly 85, McCracken cannot be as active as she used to be, but investing provides her with "a sit-down job when you can't go to the streets." Benedictine sisters do not retire. "We don't use that word," said McCracken. She added, "If we still have enough wits about us, we just keep going, you know?"