King's College London

The Church of England, in its institutional structure, largely established since 1948, directs and manages its vast property portfolio, committed people and mostly endowed financial means in pursuit of its Christian mission. The way in which the Church of England manages its assets is not only enshrined in ethical principles established long ago but are both traditional and dynamically developed to meet its modern role in humanity’s rapidly evolving societies. ‘Sustainability’, as a critical reflection of ‘development’ answers to one of those disquiets; variously defined by scholars and others during a period marked by rapid industrialisation and globalisation; simply defined, sustainability is the ‘capacity of any given system to endure’. This study examines the rise of the ‘global investment funds’, identifying some of the more important with faith-based connections (the principal one being the Church of England). The Church of England stands out from other church investors in terms of its financial might and transparency and accordingly its influence is examined in terms of the Church of England’s approach to the current sustainability discourse. This thesis considers the extent to which the Church of England is, or perhaps is not, a contemporary agent of corporate change; as it strives to influence corporate leaders and others to put ethics before profit and through this, adhere to its principal mission statement. Also, this thesis further develops Andrew Chandler’s historical analysis of this specialised area (that of the Church of England acting in its capacity as a faith-based investor) and examines the success, or otherwise, of recent Archbishops of Canterbury in driving this important Church of England narrative.