It was resolved that the Assembly:

82.55

(1) Recognise the need for the agencies of the Uniting Church to re-examine their investments to ensure that they reflect as far as possible the type of society it seeks to foster. Therefore when the Assembly or its agencies hold or make investments they give consideration to issues of concern about the environment and injustice. In examining investments, Agencies of the Uniting Church should take into account unacceptable levels of social injury which may result from activities which:

•  unnecessarily pollute the air or water;
• excessively destroy or waste non-recurring resources;
• unnecessarily or excessively change the environment or fail to improve the environment if there is an opportunity to do so concurrently with other activity;
• create goods or services which will have harmful effects on humans and the environment, and such harmful effects cannot be avoided by prudent and practical controls;
• damage the health of human beings;
• contribute to the serious inhibition of human rights (in Australia and overseas);
• result in discrimination in employment, advertising or education on basis of race or sex;
• fraudulently market or deceitfully advertise the products or the activities;
• entice the poor into financial over-commitment;
• exploit underprivileged persons by providing low wages and poor working conditions;
• enable or encourage the evasion or avoidance of payment of income tax;
• create or perpetuate excessive reliance on militarism;
• engage in the manufacture of armaments or similar means of mass destruction.

(2) Request its agencies to examine all the investments held by them to determine whether any investment contravenes these criteria.

(3) Request the Assembly Commission on Social Responsibility to consult with other Assembly Agencies concerning the employment of the investment criteria indicated above.

(4) Encourage Synods and their Agencies to consider these criteria and to commence and/or continue development and implementation of guidelines for investments and to consult with the Commission.