The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is spearheading a new campaign calling for voluntary sector organisations to consider divesting from companies in the fossil fuel industry.
The NCVO said today it was issuing a “rallying cry for our sector to take collective action on one of the biggest challenges we face”.
The membership body said eight other voluntary sector organisations, including Save the Children UK, Christian Aid, Amnesty International UK and Sense International, had already signed up to the campaign.
The #FuellingPositiveChange campaign, which will be officially launched tomorrow, asks charities to consider moving investments away from companies involved in the extraction, production and transportation of fossil fuels.
It also seeks to highlight the reputational and financial risks of investing in fossil fuels.
The NCVO said it divested from direct investment in fossil fuels earlier this year.
Alex Farrow, director of influencing and engagement at the NCVO, said: “Whatever our charitable objectives, the impacts of climate change will make everything harder.
“This campaign is a rallying cry for our sector to take collective action on one of the biggest challenges we face. Together, we can fuel positive change instead.”
Gwen Hines, chief executive of Save the Children UK, said: “We’re calling for a greener, better future for children.
“For Save the Children UK, this also means considering how we are contributing to the harm being done, and what we must do to stop it. By acting now and acting together, we can create a better world for children everywhere.”
Richard Kramer, chief executive of Sense, said: “We support NCVO’s campaign as sustainability is also about making better and more suitable and ethical investment decisions that reflect the objects of our charity, and is about committing to sustainable practices, in challenging the status quo and pushing for change.”
Kramer added that “Sense’s vision” was to be carbon-neutral by 2040.
The NCVO said charities that do not currently invest in fossil fuels could also take part in the campaign by committing to not do this in the future.
The online launch event for the NCVO campaign is open to the public and places can be booked on its website.
The other charities to have signed up to the campaign are Quakers, Friends of the Earth EWNI, Pilotlight and the Civic Power Fund.