Let’s redefine our investments for justice and sustainability
Spend 67 minutes honouring Mandela’s legacy by learning more about how your investments can build the more just and sustainable world that we all want
When was the last time you went to your pension fund manager and asked: ‘I’d like to know where you’re spending my hard-earned money?’” These were the words of Dr Iraj Abedian on The Business of Climate panel at Daily Maverick’s Gathering: Earth Edition, and the opening of our latest op-ed published in the Daily Maverick.
We know many of you have already been asking these questions – and have signed up to our #InvestFossilFree letter which is calling on asset managers to provide fossil-fuel free funds for the people who want them. And even if you haven’t (yet) signed on, we know that if you’re receiving this mail, you care deeply about the state of the climate and the future of our country.
Our upcoming web event: ‘Money Talks: Redefining our Investments for Justice and Sustainability’
That’s why we invite you to join us to spend 67 minutes honouring Mandela’s legacy by learning more about how your investments can build the more just and sustainable world that we all want:
Money Talk: Redefining Investments for Justice and Sustainability
When: 18 July (Mandela Day) at 13:00
Where: Online - register at bit.ly/ffsamoneytalk
We are excited to have Ashley Daswa and Brad McWalter joining David Le Page as speakers for this event which forms part of our broader #InvestFossilFree campaign. You can read more about the speakers here.
Very best wishes,
Sarah on behalf of the (growing) FFSA Team
The Divest-Reinvest Dispatch
Bite-sized updates on our most recent work
Our universities campaign has seen ongoing engagement with both Wits and Stellenbosch students. We now pause to reconvene in the new semester.
Leonie Joubert, author, science journalist and National Geographic correspondent has named our Climate Reporting Guide the “go-to place for any SA journalist reporting on climate”
On our #InvestFossilFree campaign, we have re-engaged Allan Gray who last year declined to meet. They have reaffirmed their position on refusing to consider a fund free of fossil fuels and are not willing to meet with us or their own clients on this. It looks like we may be considering some more direct measures later this year.
Fossil Ad-Ban Cape Town launch: On 28 June, we launched our new Fossil Ad-Ban Cape Town campaign online – calling for a ban on fossil fuel advertising, branding and sponsorship in Cape Town – and are working to build a wide base of support for this campaign.
Clean Creatives:
The Clean Creatives Creative Cleanup 2023 challenge was presented to the students at City Varsity recently facilitated by veteran film producer, David Pupkewitz. The students learnt about climate change and fossil fuel advertising and were encouraged to sign the Clean Creatives pledge and participate in the challenge.
Clean Creatives partnered with Treeshake agency on Tuesday 27th of June for a creative sustainability community dinner. Campaign director Stephen Horn spoke about the campaign in South Africa alongside reflections on the state of global climate change, fossil fuel extractivism across Africa, and the work ahead. The next Treeshake Dinner will be held in Johannesburg on 27 July, before returning to Cape Town for 27 August.
Clean Creatives activists were in Cannes, France, for the Cannes Lions advertising festival and made sure passersby knew about the fossil fuel PR work being done by Edelman. They also hosted panel discussions about clean creativity.
If you have the means, please consider donating to support our work. Even very small monthly contributions are greatly appreciated.
Keen to volunteer? We need some support with coordinating and publicising a small ad hoc fossil-gas related project that falls outside our main work flows. This would probably take 5-6 hours work a week for 2–3 weeks.
As always, feel free to hit reply or contact us with your thoughts.
