Edinburgh International Book Festival ends Baillie Gifford link
THE Edinburgh International Book Festival has announced it is ending its partnership with a company which has attracted controversy for some of its investments.
The event has been sponsored by Baillie Gifford, headquartered in the capital, since 2004, but has attracted scrutiny from activists due to its ties to the fossil fuel industry and companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The group Fossil Free Books called for literary festivals to end their relationships with the company unless it divested from such activities, after The Ferret found it had up to £5 billion invested in companies which make money from the oil, coal or gas sectors at the end of 2022.
Fossil Free Books also accused the firm of having “nearly £10bn invested in companies with direct or indirect links to Israel’s defence, tech and cybersecurity industries, including Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet”.
A 2023 report named Baillie Gifford as one of the top investors in companies involved with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Baillie Gifford says both of these claims are misleading.
The company says it is a “small investor” in three companies “that have been identified as having activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”, and that only 2% of its funds is invested in companies related to fossil fuels.
Fossil Free Books has said the 2% figure equates to between £2.5bn and £5bn.
An open letter signed by celebrities such as Nish Kumar and Charlotte Church has called on literary festivals to end their relationship with the investment firm.
Yesterday, the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Baillie Gifford said they would be ending their relationship, citing “intolerable” pressure.
Jenny Niven, chief executive of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “It is with great regret that our board of trustees and Baillie Gifford have collectively agreed to end our partnership. We are hugely grateful to the firm for its considerable support over two decades, including through some challenging times for the festival, and we are proud of what we’ve achieved together during that time.
“The pressure on our team has simply become intolerable.
“Undermining the long-term future of charitable organisations such as book festivals is not the right way to bring about change.
“We speak to all our supporters about these complex issues and continue to believe that Baillie Gifford is part of the solution in transitioning towards a more sustainable world and that the firm operates in line with our Ethical Fundraising policy.”
Allan Little, chair of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “Our team cannot be expected to deliver a safe and sustainable festival this August under the constant threat of disruption from activists. This was a pragmatic response to that reality.”
Nick Thomas, partner at Baillie Gifford, said: “The activists’ anonymous campaign of coercion and misinformation has put intolerable pressure on authors and the festival community. We step back with the hope that the festival will thrive this year and into the future.”