Today the University of Hull announces full divestment from fossil fuels, becoming the 98th UK university to make this commitment. This announcement comes as the University amends their ethical investment policy to explicitly exclude investments in all fossil fuels.
The University of Hull now joins over 60% of UK universities committed to divestment from fossil fuels, adding to a total of over £15 billion in UK university investments pulled from the fossil fuel industry. Hull’s ethical investment policy now states that the University will not invest in fossil fuels either directly or indirectly. This makes Hull the eighth UK university to divest from fossil fuels this year alone, joining a growing Fossil Free movement led by student campaigners who are demanding that their universities withdraw all investments from the fossil fuel industry.
Building on the growing success of Fossil Free, students are now turning their attention to university careers departments, demanding they exclude oil, gas and mining companies from all recruitment opportunities. This new campaign, Fossil Free Careers, sees students continue to sever the ties between their universities and extractive industries, in recognition of the ways that universities act as recruitment pipelines into the oil, gas and mining industries. Fossil Free Careers has been officially endorsed by both the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU), receiving the backing of both staff and students across the UK.
Laura Clayson, Campaign Manager at People & Planet said: “It’s incredible to see the University of Hull respond to the staff and student demands for Fossil Free that have been made across these past years and become the 98th UK university to divest. Every rejection of the fossil fuel industry chips away at their social licence and is an act of solidarity with the communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis and those resisting the impacts of extraction. Next up, we look forward to Hull excluding these companies from their recruitment practices too.”
Jeremy Hartley, Chief Finance Officer at the University of Hull said:
“We have developed an ambitious strategy, which has at its heart the themes of environmental sustainability and social justice. Our divestment from fossil fuel forms a critical part of our responsibility in helping to tackle this global challenge. We have a target of operating a carbon neutral campus in 2027, and as part of this, have continued our work to eliminate single-use plastics, cut water consumption and increase biodiversity on our campus.”
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Notes to editor
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People & Planet define full divestment as divestment from all fossil fuel extractor company holdings. Partial divestment is defined as divestment from only some fossil fuel extractor company holdings - usually those involved with the extraction of coal and tar sands.
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UK universities divested from fossil fuels:
https://peopleandplanet.org/fossil-free-victories
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University of Hull Ethical Investment Policy:
https://www.hull.ac.uk/choose-hull/university-and-region/sustainability/docs/ethical-investment-policy.pdf -
The Fossil Free Careers campaign: https://peopleandplanet.org/fossil-free-careers