In February this year, The Church of England decided to sell its entire stake in Vedanta, a FTSE listed company. But in an exclusive interview with NDTV’s Srinivasan Jain, the CEO of Vedanta Resources, Anil Agarwal, says he is going ahead with the project despite mounting unrest. Agarwal, who is based in London, says that the Church sent a representative to the site which found no violations. He called their decision to sell their shares nothing but hype.

See http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/vedanta-going-ahead-with-orissa-project-anil-agarwal-76574?cp.

S&P ups Indian mega-miner Vedanta’s Outlook to Positive

Vedanta Resources’ outlook has been revised to positive by credit rating agency Standard and Poors based on progressive commissioning of projects and higher production volumes.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page39?oid=106645&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

See http://business.in.com/article/boardroom/can-vedanta-find-its-soul/12382/1.

See http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100304/wl_sthasia_afp/indiabritainminingvedantarights.

NEWS from the Church of England
PR20.10
05/02/2010

Church of England disinvests from Vedanta Resources plc

The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board have sold their shares in Vedanta Resources plc on the advice of the Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG).  As a result, none of the three national investing bodies of the Church of England hold shares in the company.

The EIAG advised disinvestment because its engagement with the company had produced no substantive results and the EIAG believed that it would be inconsistent with the Church investing bodies’ joint ethical investment policy to remain invested given the EIAG’s concerns about the company’s approach to relations with the communities where it operates.

Allegations about Vedanta’s alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa, and planned bauxite mine in the nearby Niyamgiri hills came to the EIAG’s attention in June 2009.  The EIAG has been examining the issues carefully since and has discussed them in a process of engagement with the company.  The EIAG Secretary paid a visit to India in November 2009 to see the refinery and mine site at first hand.

EIAG Chairman, John Reynolds, said “I am a passionate advocate for engagement with companies when we have ethical concerns.  We have an excellent track record of getting our concerns heard and acted upon by the companies in which the Church investing bodies hold shares.

“We are grateful to Vedanta’s senior management for making themselves available to meet us on a number of occasions.  However, after six months of engagement, we are not satisfied that Vedanta has shown, or is likely in future to show, the level of respect for human rights and local communities that we expect of companies in whom the Church investing bodies hold shares.”

“In these circumstances the Ethical Investment Advisory Group advised that it would be inconsistent with the Church investing bodies’ joint ethical investment policy for the investing bodies to remain invested.”

The EIAG understands that the Indian government is still considering whether to give final approval for the mine project.

John Reynolds stressed “We respect the Indian democratic system.  Our concern is that a company registered and listed in the UK should conform to the established environmental, social and governance norms expected in the London market – or at least reassure its shareholders that it is committed to the journey.”

The EIAG will maintain contact with Vedanta.  John Reynolds said “We will be pleased to review our recommendation to the Church investing bodies if the company addresses the concerns we have raised.”

Ends

Further information:
Communications Office: Louis Henderson [020] 7898 1326

Notes for Editors:

The Church of England Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) makes recommendations on ethical investment policy to the Church of England’s three national investing bodies (the Church Commissioners for England, The Church of England Pensions Board and the CBF Church of England Funds).  It also conducts engagement with companies in whom the investing bodies hold shares.  The EIAG includes representation from the General Synod, the Archbishops’ Council and the Council for Mission and Public Affairs as well as the investing bodies.

Vedanta Resources plc is a FTSE 100 mining company.  The Church Commissioners and Church of England Pensions Board formerly held shares in the company worth approximately £3.8m.  The CBF Church of England funds have held Vedanta shares in the past but did not hold any at the time the EIAG recommended disinvestment.

As part of his November trip to India, EIAG Secretary Edward Mason visited villages at the periphery of Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery.  The EIAG concluded that tribes people in the refinery area had not been treated responsibly by Vedanta as the refinery project had been implemented.  The EIAG was concerned that in the absence of a new approach from the company tribes people in the mining area would not be treated responsibly either.

Measures that Vedanta could institute to provide reassurance to investors include:

·    Making available environmental and social impact assessments in relation to the Niyamgiri bauxite mine project and plans for mitigating negative impacts as a result of the mine
·    Establishing externally facilitated communication mechanisms with communities who will be affected by the Niyamgiri bauxite mine project, including consultation on how corporate social responsibility funding for development will be spent
·    Drawing up group-wide human rights, community consultation and environmental standards, policies and procedures and reporting on their implementation to shareholders.

Press release from Survival International, 5 February 2010:

Church takes ‘unprecedented’ step to sell stake in Vedanta
In a shock move, the Church of England decided today to disinvest from controversial miner Vedanta Resources on ethical grounds, dealing a devastating blow to the company’s credibility.
See http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/5518.

Coverage in The Independent, 5 February 2010

Church of England sells its shares in Vedanta Resources over human rights concerns

The Church of England announced this morning that it has sold all its shares in the international mining company Vedanta Resources because of concerns over the corporation’s human rights record.

Campaigners have been pressurising the Church to sell its £2.5m shares in the FTSE 100 company which is currently in the process of building a controversial bauxite mine and alumina refinery in the Indian state of Orissa.

See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/church-of-england-sells-its-shares-in-vedanta-resources-over-human-rights-concerns-1890492.html.

Further press coverage of Church of England disinvestment from Vedanta

Vedanta shares fall as Church of England sells entire stake

Vedanta Resources was under pressure as the blue-chip extended Thursday’s huge sell off, tumbling 1.5pc on renewed concerns over the sovereign debt crisis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/7167732/Vedanta-shares-fall-as-Church-of-England-sells-entire-stake.html

Church drops Vedanta over ethical concerns

The Church of England offloaded its stake in the controversial FTSE 100-listed mining group Vedanta Resources, saying that the company’s respect for human rights fell below its standards.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/church-drops-vedanta-over-ethical-concerns-1891029.html

Church of England sells Vedanta stake over human rights concerns

Controversial plans for open-cast mine on Niyamgiri mountain in Orissa, India, force church to abandon shares worth £3.8m

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/05/vedanta-niyamgiri-orissa-church-of-england

Church of England sells Vedanta stake over record on human rights
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7017183.ece

Church of England sells Vedanta Resources shares
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9DM1LLG0.htm

Church of England sells £3.8m stake in Vedanta over human rights fears
http://business.scotsman.com/business/Church-of-England-sells-38m.6048911.jp

Vedanta was just one of a number of investments in mining companies which the Church of England still holds.

Both the Church of England and the Methodist Church hold shares in Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, despite the fact that the Catholic aid agency CAFOD, War on Want, Anglican bishops and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, amongst others, have previously condemned the companies for their actions. The combined Church of England shareholding in these three companies was valued at £62 million in the last annual report of the Church Commissioners.

Read more at http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/11192.

NEWS from the Church of England
PR20.10
05/02/2010

Church of England disinvests from Vedanta Resources plc

The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board have sold their shares in Vedanta Resources plc on the advice of the Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG).  As a result, none of the three national investing bodies of the Church of England hold shares in the company.

The EIAG advised disinvestment because its engagement with the company had produced no substantive results and the EIAG believed that it would be inconsistent with the Church investing bodies’ joint ethical investment policy to remain invested given the EIAG’s concerns about the company’s approach to relations with the communities where it operates.

Allegations about Vedanta’s alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa, and planned bauxite mine in the nearby Niyamgiri hills came to the EIAG’s attention in June 2009.  The EIAG has been examining the issues carefully since and has discussed them in a process of engagement with the company.  The EIAG Secretary paid a visit to India in November 2009 to see the refinery and mine site at first hand.

EIAG Chairman, John Reynolds, said “I am a passionate advocate for engagement with companies when we have ethical concerns.  We have an excellent track record of getting our concerns heard and acted upon by the companies in which the Church investing bodies hold shares.

“We are grateful to Vedanta’s senior management for making themselves available to meet us on a number of occasions.  However, after six months of engagement, we are not satisfied that Vedanta has shown, or is likely in future to show, the level of respect for human rights and local communities that we expect of companies in whom the Church investing bodies hold shares.”

“In these circumstances the Ethical Investment Advisory Group advised that it would be inconsistent with the Church investing bodies’ joint ethical investment policy for the investing bodies to remain invested.”

The EIAG understands that the Indian government is still considering whether to give final approval for the mine project.

John Reynolds stressed “We respect the Indian democratic system.  Our concern is that a company registered and listed in the UK should conform to the established environmental, social and governance norms expected in the London market – or at least reassure its shareholders that it is committed to the journey.”

The EIAG will maintain contact with Vedanta.  John Reynolds said “We will be pleased to review our recommendation to the Church investing bodies if the company addresses the concerns we have raised.”

Ends

Further information:
Communications Office: Louis Henderson [020] 7898 1326

Notes for Editors:

The Church of England Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) makes recommendations on ethical investment policy to the Church of England’s three national investing bodies (the Church Commissioners for England, The Church of England Pensions Board and the CBF Church of England Funds).  It also conducts engagement with companies in whom the investing bodies hold shares.  The EIAG includes representation from the General Synod, the Archbishops’ Council and the Council for Mission and Public Affairs as well as the investing bodies.

Vedanta Resources plc is a FTSE 100 mining company.  The Church Commissioners and Church of England Pensions Board formerly held shares in the company worth approximately £3.8m.  The CBF Church of England funds have held Vedanta shares in the past but did not hold any at the time the EIAG recommended disinvestment.

As part of his November trip to India, EIAG Secretary Edward Mason visited villages at the periphery of Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery.  The EIAG concluded that tribes people in the refinery area had not been treated responsibly by Vedanta as the refinery project had been implemented.  The EIAG was concerned that in the absence of a new approach from the company tribes people in the mining area would not be treated responsibly either.

Measures that Vedanta could institute to provide reassurance to investors include:

·    Making available environmental and social impact assessments in relation to the Niyamgiri bauxite mine project and plans for mitigating negative impacts as a result of the mine
·    Establishing externally facilitated communication mechanisms with communities who will be affected by the Niyamgiri bauxite mine project, including consultation on how corporate social responsibility funding for development will be spent
·    Drawing up group-wide human rights, community consultation and environmental standards, policies and procedures and reporting on their implementation to shareholders.

Press release from Survival International, 5 February 2010:

Church takes ‘unprecedented’ step to sell stake in Vedanta
In a shock move, the Church of England decided today to disinvest from controversial miner Vedanta Resources on ethical grounds, dealing a devastating blow to the company’s credibility.
See http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/5518.

Coverage in The Independent, 5 February 2010

Church of England sells its shares in Vedanta Resources over human rights concerns

The Church of England announced this morning that it has sold all its shares in the international mining company Vedanta Resources because of concerns over the corporation’s human rights record.

Campaigners have been pressurising the Church to sell its £2.5m shares in the FTSE 100 company which is currently in the process of building a controversial bauxite mine and alumina refinery in the Indian state of Orissa.

See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/church-of-england-sells-its-shares-in-vedanta-resources-over-human-rights-concerns-1890492.html.

See http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10465.

See http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de6ec38e-b8f9-11de-98ee-00144feab49a.html?catid=106&SID=google&nclick_check=1.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/aug/02/vedanta-mining-environment-development.

This information was in fact published no less than eight years ago by the Kolkata-based Telegraph.

It was also cited in  Mines and Communities’ first major analysis of Vedanta (Vedanta – the  Panto!) – which appeared on the MAC website in January 2004, just after the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The allegations were also mentioned in a 2006 report by Felix Padel and Samarendra Das – again published on MAC.  See: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=40.

Here are the relevant paragraphs  from Vedanta – the Panto!:

“Another critical issue (though seemingly since lost in the shuffle) was raised at this time by the Kolkota (Calcutta)-based Telegraph. The newspaper claimed there were documents showing that Balco produced special lightweight aluminium alloys used in India’s Prithvi and Agni series of intermediate nuclear missiles and rocket components; Balco allegedly supplied the casings for India’s nuclear tests of 1998. The company was ‘bound by a supply-and-production agreement with the Department of Defence Supplies to keep this technology secret’.

“The agreement (S. NO 1(3)/90/T(SI)/CPO(VG)-1645) also bound to secrecy, not only metallurgists who helped develop the alloys, but also “all scientists, engineers, other officers and technical hands who came to know about the technology, its use or manufacture.” An obvious fear was that, by selling the company to Sterlite, details of the technology might be leaked to outsiders.”

See: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=70.

A persistent campaign by activists to stop Vedanta from mining in Orissa’s Niyamgiri mountains for bauxite has got a boost from the Church. The Church of England, that has invested in the company’s stocks, said its representatives will meet Vedanta’s management to discuss the issues raised by human rights campaigners.

See http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/churchengland-to-meet-vedanta-managementniyamgiri/365370/.

Anglican Church urged to pull back from Orissa mining project

Even as the Church of England is ruminating over its stance over the bauxite mining of Niyamgiri Hills, a Hindu leader has called on the Episcopal Church to practice what it preached.

The Church of England is a shareholder of the Vedanta Resources, a multinational mining company that is being severely criticised for setting up an alumina refinery in Orissa’s ‘sacred’ Niyamgiri Hills.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed accused the Church for double standards over the issue of environment.

See http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/hindu-leader-wants-anglican-church-to-practise-what-it-preached/4306.htm.

See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/church-accused-of-unethical-investment-in-aluminium-mine-1719999.html

For a video on community resistance to Vedanta in India, see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0o1PhmTjEQ

Vedanta has also come under heavy criticism for its activities in Armenia and Zambia.

See

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=9287 http://www.counterpunch.org/servant05292009.html
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=8492
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=8279