The Univesity of Guelph says its board of governors has voted to move investments through its endowment portfolio away from fossil fuels.
The decision was made on Wednesday to divest over the next five years, beginning this month. It comes after years of discussion and campaigning from a local student advocacy group, Fossil Free Guelph.
Chair of the board of governors Shauneen Bruder said the decision is part of the school’s commitment to sustainability, which ramped up in 2019 when Guelph became one of the first Canadian universities to commit to reducing the carbon footprint in its endowment portfolio.
“To us, sustainability is about stewarding our valued resources — our people, our campus and our planet — and to meet the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” Bruder said in a statement.
According to a report, $32.5 million of the public equity portion of the university’s portfolio contains holdings with fossil fuel reserves.
The university also has emerging market investments that are in the form of a pooled fund with a value of over $23.4 million. According to the same report, $3.3 million of the fund includes holdings with fossil fuel reserves and the university would have to sell the entire pooled fund and transition to other investments.
There is an exception to the divestment process going forward to allow for specific investments in fossil fuel companies that support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Due to that, Fossil Free Guelph said this not yet a full victory.
“The university has committed to full divestment but with an added clause that could undermine the meaningfulness and accountability of that commitment,” the group said in a statement.
According to school officials, the university has already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions to below 1990 levels and plans to reduce them even further to 80 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050.