Hats off to Syracuse University for
announcing it will divest its $1.18 billion endowment from direct fossil fuel investments:
SU will continue to seek investments through its endowment in companies that are focused on developing new technology involving solar energy, biofuels and advanced recycling, according to an SU News release.
This commitment means that SU will not “directly invest in publicly traded companies whose primary business is extraction of fossil fuels.” External investment managers at SU will also be directed to halt investments in these public companies, according to the release.
The students drove this massive change in investment strategy:
Divest SU is a group of students seeking to divest SU’s endowment of fossil fuels and make it invest in renewable energy. The group was formed in 2012 after Bill McKibben, a well-known environmental author, gave a lecture in Hendricks Chapel. Since then, students involved in the group have hosted events such as Divestment Week and Divest Fest, held protests and created petitions in order to convince the university to stop its investment in fossil fuels.
Syracuse University joins Stanford University and a growing list of
universities, non-profit organizations, churches and cities that have divested in recent years.