College students and alumni at over 300 colleges and universities across the United States are demanding universities: 

Stop: Freeze new investments in the fossil fuel industry.

Drop: Divest and implement screens to ensure their portfolios are fossil free within the next 5 years.

Roll: Reinvest 5% of their endowment into community and energy solutions like credit unions and revolving loan funds.

Fossil fuel companies like Chevron, Shell, and Exxon are responsible for thousands of deaths each year. Most directly affected communities that have been fighting these extractive industries for decades have called for support from students. Divestment is a way to take action against these corporations locally, and end the silence around the deadly impacts of fossil fuels. 

Additionally, as supported by the newest IPCC report, the urgency of climate change cannot be overstated. The burning of fossil fuels is the leading contributor to climate change. Divestment and reinvestment not only tackles the root of this problem, but spurs the development of innovative sustainable technologies and enables communities to creatively come up with solutions by investing money directly into community-controlled institutions.

Reinvestment: Divest. Invest.

With students, REC is asking that colleges reinvest five percent of their endowments into these clean economy solutions, which include:

• Renewable energy and clean technology including energy efficiency retrofits
• Sustainable infrastructure like wind farms and public transportation
• Community development financial institutions like loan funds, credit unions, and community banks
• Sustainable forestry, clean water and other investments to mitigate the impacts of climate change

More specifically, REC asks that colleges reinvest one percent of the endowment in community investment.  We emphasize indirect investment, in which a trusted third party allocates the investment within the college's local community or to projects that keep money local.  Appropriate community investment vehicles include:

• Credit unions --- Some examples are Self-Help Credit Union, Latino Credit Union, Lower East Side People's Credit Union
• Community development banks --- With CDARS a school can invest up to $50 million in community development banks
• Cooperative and green revolving loan funds --- Some examples are Working World, Cooperative Fund of New England
• Municipal bonds

REC asks that four percent of the endowment be reinvested in traditional endowment asset classes.  Appropriate investments in traditional endowment asset classes include:

• Venture capital/private equity --- Some examples are DBL Investors, SJF Ventures
• Public equity --- Some examples are Impax Asset Management, Portfolio 21, Trillium Asset Management, Sustainability Group, Boston Common Asset Management
• Real estate --- Some examples are Lyme Timber, Ecotrust Forest Management

Sign up here to let us know you are interested in getting in touch with a REC staff member for support on your fossil fuel divestment and reinvestment campaign. You can also send an email to organize@endowmentethics.org.

For more resources on fossil fuel divestment and reinvestment, click here.