Northumbria business academic to Chair investment committee of Joseph Rowntree charity

A Northumbria University Associate Professor has been appointed as Chair of the Investment Committee for the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT).

Nicholas Burton, from Northumbria’s Newcastle Business School, is already a JRCT trustee. The Trust supports charitable causes that tackle systemic social injustice, and in his new role on the Committee, Associate Professor Burton will help to ensure it continues to be funded by ethically responsible investments that are rigorously assessed to meet high environmental, social and governance standards.

Set up in the early 1900s through an endowment from Quaker Joseph Rowntree, JRCT’s mission is to support people who address the root causes of conflict and injustice. Every year JRCT makes grants amounting to more than £10 million for all kinds of charitable work, from grassroots community groups to well-established charities working to build a peaceful and just world.

In 2019 the JRCT was named a global leader by the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment. Associate Professor Burton says this unwavering approach to responsible investment is a fundamental principle of the Trust. He added: “Our fund managers work closely with us to ensure that the Trust’s investments meet the highest environmental, social and governance criteria in line with the Trusts’ Quaker values. We set very high standards, which means that we challenge robustly wherever necessary to ensure our investments support environmental and social change. The responsibility of the Investment Committee is to uphold these core Quaker values in our approach to investing.”

Commenting on his appointment Professor Robert MacIntosh, Pro Vice-chancellor for the Faculty of Business and Law at Northumbria, said: “This represents significant personal recognition for Nicholas and a prestigious appointment for a University where we have a track record of world-class research in responsible and ethical business practice. Having one of our academics on the JRCT Investment Committee further enhances our reputation in an increasingly important field.”