The Union will now work to lobby Brunel University London to fully divest from fossil fuels.
On February 22nd, at our Annual General Meeting, students committed the Union of Brunel Students’ to lobby the University to fully support People and Planet’s Fossil Free Campaign.
Fossil Free aims to challenge the social license* of the fossil fuel industry to operate as it currently does. It does this by demanding all UK universities:
- Exclude the fossil fuel industry from their investment portfolio(s)
- Introduce a publicly accessible ethical investment policy that excludes the fossil fuel industry
- Commit to and fully divest from all fossil fuels within 3 years
In the 2021 People and Planet Green League, Brunel University London scored 0/35% for its commitment in policy to screen out fossil fuel investments. It has also failed to cooperate in making investment details publicly available.
Following the passing of the motion, the proposer, Pippa Jillings commented:
“Universities should act in the best interests of their students. By investing their finances into the fossil fuel industry, Brunel is funding the extraction of scarce planetary resources, subsequently contributing to the destruction of the planet those students live on. Brunel has independently declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency yet refuses to act in accordance with this - they must admit their hypocrisy and hold themselves accountable.”
The Union will now work to actively implement the motion.