Carleton University’s Board of Governors (BoG) announced it will abolish any direct fossil fuel investments in the university’s endowment and non-endowed operating funds during its March 10 meeting.
The university announced the decision in a recent press release published on March 11. In the release, Carleton media relations officer Steven Reid said the university will look to establish a fossil-fuel free investment fund by the end of 2022. The statement also said the university will achieve “significant decarbonization” within the endowment and non-endowed operating funds by 2030.
Carleton updated its responsible investment policies to reflect the change.
The release said the university’s investment policies aim to have a positive effect on climate change through taking environmental, social and governance factors into account.
In the release, president and vice-chancellor Benoit-Antoine Bacon said the decisions “align with Carleton’s commitment to meet the challenge of climate change and to strive towards creating a more sustainable economy,” and added that at this time, “Carleton is not holding any direct fossil fuel investments in these funds.”
Before a previous BoG meeting on Dec. 3, 2021, dozens of protesters participated in a sit-in organized by Climate Action Carleton (CAC) calling on the university to divest from fossil fuels.
In response to the protest, Reid told the Charlatan the university would review its investment approach.
Stephanie Vienneau, direct action lead for CAC and a key organizer of the December protest, told the Charlatan she applauds Carleton for its commitment.
“I think it’s a really good outcome,” Vienneau said. “We’ve been working for a while to get that, so I’m pretty content.”
She said CAC will continue working towards greater sustainability on campus through education-based initiatives as they reassess their next campaign.
Carleton’s BoG is scheduled to meet again on April 22.
Featured image by Isaac Phan Nay.
