Earth Day ESG Profile: The Catholic Church of America

Earth Day ESG stories of corporations making good on their promise of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals, to please both investors and activists.

For ages, the Catholic Church of America has faced widespread criticism of their lack of commitment to ESG goals. The simple fact that the church owns thousands of properties or 177 M acres worldwide, an amount much larger than both McDonald’s and Bill Gates combined (link), should bring attention to this “under-the-radar” climate impactor.

Many congregations already utilize their properties for other purposes such as meal programs for the needy, social benefit support groups like AA and hosting musical concerts. Through these partnerships, churches have also identified a need for overnight stays. Starting with opening up parking lots to car dwellers to running seasonal cold weather shelters, churches are adapting to provide overnight stays within the sacred spaces on pews. This initiative is called the “Care BnB” initiative.

“We started feeding the people, providing them with clothing, offering them showers & hygiene facilities, now it is obvious that we are called by God to open up our sacred space to provide a warm place to sleep,” stated Deacon Warren Newsome of the Archdioceses of Newnan. ““We are bound to upholding the intrinsic dignity of human life, per the Mensuram Bonam, or Faith-Based Measures for Catholic Investors: A Starting Point and Call to Action (link), and Care BnB is a great way to share our gifts with the local community“

“Having more people around when the sun goes, means less chance of the priests to get frisky with the altar staff,” a former Baltimore altar boy spoke under condition of anonymity, due to his recently signed NDA with his local church.

The Catholic Church is piloting the Care BnB at locations across the US and plans expansion worldwide including Italy, where many of their real estate assets are being underutilized and left for ruin.