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Create your long term Faith Plan to protect the environment
June 23, 2019:
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The Earth and all living things are as mutually dependent as bees and honey are - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. PHOTO: Kristine Tanne on Unsplash. |
The destruction of the natural environment – including the impact of climate change – is the biggest challenge to all life on earth. The world's major faiths are taking a lead by developing Faith Plans – long-term commitments looking at how they will manage their assets, investments, influence and resources to drive action on climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development over the next seven to ten years. This initiative started by ARC is now being led by FaithInvest.
We invite all faith groups to join the programme.
This is already the biggest environmental initiative ever launched by the faiths. Dozens of faith groups have signed up to develop a Plan. The next tranche of the plans will be launched in 2021, ahead of the UN's COP 26 Climate Conference to be held in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021.
What are the plans?The Faith Plans are a response to the triple crises of climate change, ecological devastation and the impact of Covid-19 on national commitments around the Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2020 initiative builds on the success of the original 2009 Faith Commitments programme, organised by ARC and launched at Windsor Castle. This resulted in more than 60 plans that have profoundly shaped the faiths' response to key environmental issues over the past decade.
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Each faith looked at its buildings and assets and teaching and investment and prayer and outreach to see how it could be better protecting the planet. PHOTO: Josh Applegate for Unsplash |
WHO ARE THE ORGANISERS?
The 2020 FaithPlans Programme is organised by FaithInvest and WWF. FaithInvest's main role is to encourage faiths to include policies around faith-consistent investing in their Plans, as this is our main area of focus. WWF provides expert advice and support on key environmental issues.
The programme involves all the major traditions, as well as key interfaith organisations. It also includes a coalition of secular organisations whose advice and assistance will ensure the Plans are workable and effective.
HOW DOES MY FAITH GROUP JOIN?1. Share your commitment to develop your own Faith Plan (and let Faithinvest know).
2. Download the Faith Plans guide and begin consulting your faith leaders on the programme.
3. Sign up to be notified of any FaithPlans webinars.
4. Write and agree a Plan.
5. Make the changes. Make the difference.
Read more on the Faithinvest website.
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The Long Term Plans were launched at Windsor Castle: three Sikh leaders present their plan. |
How did the process start through ARC? In 2009 at a meeting in Windsor hosted by HRH Prince Philip, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also present, many faith groups launched long-term action plans to protect the environment. Most of these had seven or eight years to run, and by 2015 most of them are close to completion.
Later in 2012 in Nairobi, 24 faith groups (Christian, Muslim and Hindu) from all over Africa participatedFor the UN to hold a meeting to assess what worked, and to explore the faiths' support of the SDGs, is part of the UN's recognition of the potential for real religious engagement on these key global issues.
In Bristol in 2015 at a meeting organised by ARC and cohosted by the United Nations as part of their launch of the 17 SDGs, the next batch of Long Term Plans were launched.
ARC closed in 2019 and the baton was passed to the new organisation FaithInvest and to WWF.
Read more about the history of the Faith PlansYou can also find many relevant stories and pages by using the search box above.
The Windsor launch event.
One year on from Windsor.
The original 31 plans launched at Windsor.
The original guidance on creating plans and the 7 key areas.
Long Term Plan project page.
African Faith Leaders make pledges in Abuja to make long term environment commitments .
African Faith Commitments launched at Nairobi.
Nairobi meeting.
The Bristol 2015 meeting.
China Daoists launch a plan which includes protecting wildlife and stopping "mercy release".
FaithInvest takes up the FaithPlans programme together with key partners.
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