Like the Rockefellers, we are all heirs to the planet and its wealth of resources. We are also all heirs to the legacy created by our reliance on carbon-based fuels. While sacred texts may teach us that “the meek will inherit the Earth”, without bold action to counter climate change our “inheritance” may not be fit for life as we know it.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is taking an appropriately bold public step toward reconciling the source of their philanthropic resources and acknowledging the complexity of the process. In my reading of history, oil was not the only resource that led to the breathtaking accumulation of Rockefeller wealth: A visionary leadership style and the invention of an entirely new business model for extracting and distributing that oil was an important part of the story.
Although a fraction of the 300 thousand-plus marchers in last week's Peoples’ Climate March, faith leaders marched and sang and prayed with one voice throughout the day. That evening, a multifaith service was held at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. The service captured the spirit of gathering, “Religions for the Earth” which was convened by Union Theological Seminary and many faith leaders: Leaders who have been deeply committed to raising their voices to reverse climate change, in some cases for decades.
Every institution must do the complex soul searching that Rockefeller Brothers Funds’ president, Stephen Heintz and the Funds’ trustee, Steven Rockefeller, have done. We must commit to a fuller understanding of, and responsibility for, the source of our own wealth and resources and then make choices as investors, employers and consumers. With examination, like the RBF, we may find areas that no longer represent our mission and purpose. We can then begin in earnest the work of reconciliation. This work will not be simple but can be uplifting, especially when guided by our faith. Whether called toward the complex work of engagement in the corporate sector, or more public actions of divestment and advocacy, the call to act has never been more urgent. We must fully commit to ensuring that our work is focused with more intensity on healing the world.
For some, like the faith and values-driven investors that participate as members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, that means examining the call to influence corporations through dialogue and engagement. Like John D. Rockefeller, many years ago ICCR found a new way of organizing as shareholders. And they found a way to make their voices heard. Since then, the “wealth” created has been measured by an enduring record of demonstrated influence on corporate policies.
These days, new questions are being asked. As a coalition committed to reversing climate change, is it possible to reconcile the wide range of approaches organizations are called to deploy? We know that the impact of climate change has hurt the human community and exacerbated the breadth of justice issues that drive everyone's day-to-day decisions. Food and water scarcity is increasing while fueling geo-political unrest across the globe. Weather related events are fiercer and more unpredictable, taking an enormous economic and emotional toll on communities, particularly those already climate and resource-stressed.
Last week, as the Cathedral sanctuary shimmered with the intensity of a shared and renewed commitment from the faith community to use their moral authority to call for the responsible stewardship of God’s creation, we were all aware that we were forging a new pact where meekness would no longer have a place. Like the Rockefellers, we were acutely aware that our inheritance was in grave peril and the day of reckoning had arrived.
