Our councils should invest ethically

Kent County Council invests billions as part of its pension fund, yet despite lip service to social responsibility it continues to fund arms companies, tobacco and oil industries and companies that are supporting despotic regimes such as Burma and Zimbabwe.

Fair Pensions commented: "There is no reason why environmental, social and corporate governance concerns should not be paramount in the practice of responsible investment. Ethical investment is showing the same or better returns on investment in relation to unethical investments."

Our campaign commenced in 2007 and has met with some success. In 2008, KCC agreed to incorporate the United Nations' Principles of Responsible Investment into their policies. Sadly they continue to state that economic decisions outweigh ethical ones and continue to maintain their shares in arms manufacture. Even so, this was a significant step and Kent Green Party even received congratulations from the Campaign Against Arms Trade.

There are so many areas that KCC could invest in that would benefit people and the environment, while making a reasonable return for the council. A great example would be renewable energy, such as Little Cheyne Court Windfarm on Romney Marsh

We will continue to monitor KCC's investments. This is public money and should be used responsibly.