The University of Guelph’s Board of Governors voted today to divest from fossil fuel companies in its endowment portfolio.
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ccording to a press release put out by the University, the decision to divest follows a recommendation from the university’s administration and the Board of Finance committee.
The endowment fund is for student assistance including scholarships and bursaries, and also supports research, strategic initiatives, equipment and library acquisitions, and endowed faculty positions.
The recommendation comes, in part, due to the work of student activists — including those who, on March 4, staged a sit-in in the office of Don O’Leary, Vice-President (finance, administration and risk).
During the sit-in, O’Leary publicly committed to recommending to the board that it commit to fully divesting.
O’Leary told The Ontarion afterwards, “the passion and emotions of the students are impressive and powerful. I appreciate their leadership, dedication and commitment. I also share their concerns.”
Divestment has been a major talking point for years in the university community, with many students and student groups — including the University’s Central Students Association (CSA) — calling for divestment. The CSA released a letter in February of this year directly calling for divestment and saying “by maintaining its fossil fuel investments, the University of Guelph is complicit in environmental destruction and the violation of human rights.”
In the past, the University has adopted an attitude towards “responsible investment” rather than full divestment and, in January 2019, U of G committed to reducing the carbon footprint of its investments. At the time, however, this did not mean fully divesting.
Instead, the board took the recommendation of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Special Action Requests, to take a “holistic approach” to its investments and overall carbon footprint, “as opposed to only targeting one or more specific sectors.”
The committee had been established to consider the request from Fossil Free Guelph — an activist group, which includes many students, that has been calling for divestment for seven years — that the University freeze its investments in fossil fuel companies and fully divest from those same companies within five years.
After taking into account input from students and Fossil Free Guelph, the University said today that a plan was developed which includes a commitment to evaluation, planning and long-term carbon reduction targets. The University says it is “committed to lead in advancing change in the university sector on this issue.”
The University has also used external investment advisers to review its investment strategy as it transitions the portfolio away from fossil fuels.
“I’m really pleased the University of Guelph is moving in the right direction,” Horeen Hassan, CSA Vice President External Affairs told The Ontarion. Hassan has been an active voice in the call for divestment. “I applaud all the hard work of past and present Fossil Free Guelph members who’ve been pushing the divestment campaign for the past seven years… Moving forward, it’s important to review reports from the investment sub-committee and ensure that any future endowment plans fully consider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors before making investment decisions.”
According to an Instagram poll conducted by the CSA in February of this year, 84 per cent of students agree that the University of Guelph should divest.
More on this as the story develops.
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