BU’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing reconsiders steps toward fossil fuel divestment

Boston University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing is currently conducting a five-year consideration of fossil fuel divestment to make a recommendation to the board of trustees, which endorsed a review of policies in 2016.

The 2016 decision included the board’s acceptance of the ACRI’s proposal to “prohibit new and divest of any existing direct investments” in companies that pursue exploration for new fossil fuel reserves or extract coal and tar sands, which are the most carbon-intensive fuel.

The committee’s board stipulated that it will revisit the issue every five years or more often depending on changes in economy, climate, technology or other areas.

To facilitate discussion surrounding socially responsible investing, the BU community was invited to attend a series of forums organized by the ACSRI Feb. 25, March 1 and March 4.

Each event features a panel of BU experts on sustainable energy and environmental studies.

BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email these forums are considered a component of that five-year review process.

“They are part of the committee’s efforts to understand changes in climate science that have occurred since the 2016,” Riley wrote, “and to promote community discussion of these issues that will inform whether a recommendation to the Board for additional steps may be warranted at this time.”

He added that since their 2016 decision, the board has already taken steps toward climate change mitigation at the university.

“These included seeking to curb new investments in coal and tar sand extraction companies and increase the number of ‘green’ investment managers and products within the University endowment portfolio,” Riley wrote, “as well as endorsing the development of the University’s overall Climate Action Plan.”

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Andrea Wetzler is the president of Divest BU, a coalition of BU community members whose mission is to persuade the University to divest its endowment from fossil fuel companies.

“At the heart of it, we’re trying to get BU to take out their millions of dollars that they invest in the fossil fuel industry,” Wetzler said, “and move that into sustainable practices.”

Wetzler said it was unnecessary for BU to wait five years before reconsidering divestment.

“The science has been there for decades on how impactful fossil fuels have been to deteriorate our climate,” she said, “and to cause the crisis we’re in today.”

Divest BU submitted a “Divestment/Reinvestment” proposal in 2019 and met with President Robert Brown and the ASCRI to discuss it, but the consequences of the climate crisis were deemed “not significant enough to warrant an expediated response,” she said.

“That was just really unfortunate and really just embarrassing as an institution that tries to say that it cares about sustainability,” Wetzler said, “where at the same time, they’re investing into the fossil fuel industry in kind of a textbook example of greenwashing.”

Wetzler said BU seems to be preparing to go ahead with divestment, albeit without reaching out to her organization or seeing it as a priority.

“It’s just unfortunate that it’s taken so long,” she said, “and it’s unfortunate that the ACSRI has not reached out to Divest BU at all.”

CAS freshman Reid Chave said BU should be more responsible with its investments as an organization.

“Any institution with the resources of BU, with the multi-billion dollar endowment that it has,” Chave said, “has a responsibility to use that money in a way that will forward a brighter future.”

He added the investments seemed to oppose BU’s progressive image of sustainability.

“Investing in something as environmentally destructive as fossil fuels is not responsible,” Chave said. “Especially for an organization that claims to be this champion of science and education and enlightenment.”

Putting funds toward renewable energy sources, he added, is logical and economically sustainable.

“You can get power from renewable sources cheaper in many cases than getting power from sources like fossil fuels,” he said.

Chave said the five-year waiting period from 2016 to 2021 for a reconsideration on divesting was unnecessary.

“This is not some new issue,” Chave said. “I think that there has been more than enough time to make it clear that the moral decision would be to divest.”

Jordan Lee, a freshman in CAS, said he understands why the decision to divest may take some time, but five years is too long.

“Obviously, take time to make these decisions because these are very serious decisions, do your research, stuff like that,” Lee said. “But five years seems like a little too much time.”

Lee said it is important to keep BU, as well as surrounding communities, “in check” when it comes to environmental preservation.

Questrom School of Business freshman Marina Hussain said “a lot of damage can be done” in a five-year timeframe.

“The quicker they change that, it’s better,” Hussain said. “[It’s a] big university and it has a lot of power, so it should choose to invest in more renewable energy.”