University of St Andrews students win divestment from fossil fuels 2016-2017

Beginning in 2014, campaigns demanding divestment from fossil fuels appeared around the United Kingdom. University of Glasgow was the first university in the UK to commit to divestment in 2014. The University of Oxford, The University of Cambridge, and London School of Economics, among others, followed. By the end of 2016, 30 universities across the UK committed to divestment from the fossil fuel industry.

With divestment campaigns achieving their goals around the country, others saw an opportunity to put pressure on their own schools. A network of activists formed and joined the existing People and Planet organization, which formed a “Fossil Free” branch to empower students’ protest of university investment in fossil fuels.

In January 2016, a Fossil Free petition created by David Killilea, co-chair of Fossil Free St. Andrews, titled “To members of the University Court of St. Andrews: Fossil Free St. Andrews,” was introduced by Killilea. The letter included four demands of universities: make a statement expressing intent to divest from the fossil fuel industry, immediately cease any increase in holdings of fossil fuel investments, divest entirely from the fossil fuel industry within three years of the submission of the petition, and explore and implement sustainable investment strategies.

Killilea and Fossil Free St Andrews made their motives clear. They wrote, “The reasons we make these demands are twofold; preventing [and] mitigating the impacts of catastrophic climate change and renewing the University’s commitment to sustainability.” After further explanation, they exhorted others, “As a member of the University this is not only your opportunity to ensure a better world, but your responsibility to both future generations and in supporting the University’s desire to become carbon neutral for energy. Please sign this petition to ensure that future.”

The University of St. Andrews was among the first universities to enact an ethical investment policy, which stated the importance of “protection of the global environment, its climate and its biodiversity.” St. Andrews implemented the policy in 2006 after three years of student activism regarding international conflict and investment in arms companies. Ninety-one percent of the student population supported this policy change. With a new focus, the Fossil Free petition asked the university to honor its ethical investment policy as it relates to the environment and climate change, while acknowledging and supporting the goal of the school to achieve carbon neutrality within two decades. 

In three months, the petition gained over 500 signatures from students, faculty, and alumni. The mass support for the petition proved a turning point for the campaign. The University Students’ Association brought the question of divestment to the University Court, the highest decision making body at the University, at a meeting in June of 2016. It is unclear exactly what happened at this meeting, although it appears that the Court made the decision to proceed with divestment from the fossil fuel industry, only six months after the petition was created.

The petition requested support from the St Andrews Students’ Association, which they received after the summer of 2016. Although the University Court had seemingly already made a decision, the President of the Association, Charlotte Andrew, introduced “a motion to recommend that the University of St Andrews divests its endowment fund from fossil fuels” on 13 September 2016. This lobbying was the final support needed to push the campaign to victory, as it now had full support from the student body and was accepted by the University Court.

In February 2017, the University announced that it had removed all fossil fuel holdings from its investment portfolio. In July 2017, the school published its annual investment report with one significant change: Alliance Trust, the portfolio containing numerous fossil fuel holdings, was replaced by LionTrust, a more sustainable fund that includes investments in renewable energy.

The Fossil Free St Andrews campaign was short and straightforward for those involved. Thanks to a receptive University Court, the petition made its way through the decision-making process quickly and without much objection. In thirteen months, the university completely divested from fossil fuels, an accomplishment supported by public records after 18 months. The University of St Andrews met all four of the demands set by Fossil Free St Andrews, making the campaign an absolute success. This inspired other students around the United Kingdom and the world to advocate for similar changes at their own universities.