Church of England investment funds lambast TotalEnergies

The French firm’s decision not to follow its peers’ lead on Russia is back in the spotlight

“It is clear that TotalEnergies’ position [on Russia] is incompatible with maintaining a social licence to operate.” So write Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer at the Church of England Pensions Board, and Bess Joffe, head of responsible investment at the Church Commissioners for England, in a hard-hitting letter to the French firm’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanne. The letter expresses “deep concern related to [TotalEnergies’] decision not to withdraw completely from the Russian market and disinvest [its] holdings in Russian operations”. And it notes that the firm’s decision to remain invested “in Russian companies that are clearly strategically significant within Russia is at odds w