UVic adopts investment policy reducing reliance on carbon emitters, but critics call it 'greenwashing'

The University of Victoria's board of governors approved a "responsible investment policy" to reduce investment in greenhouse gas producers Tuesday, but some at the university say the change isn't meaningful. 

The policy applies to the university's $225-million short-term investments fund. The university says the policy will lower carbon emissions across the entire portfolio by 45 per cent by the year 2030. 

The university says it plans to divest from high carbon-emitting companies regardless of their industry sector, including the fossil fuel industry. 

Gayle Gorrill, vice-president of finance and operations, says the policy will target fossil fuel producers and the release of greenhouse gases caused by consumer behaviour, deforestation and industrialization. 

"We think this is a much more holistic approach because we're looking at all of those companies, not just the fossil fuel companies," Gorrill said. 

'Doesn't feel like a victory to us'

Not everyone is pleased with the decision. Members of Divest UVic protested outside the meeting Tuesday saying the new policy doesn't go far enough.

Juliette Watts, an organizer with Divest UVic, says the policy doesn't reflect the values of the university population. In 2019, for example, 77 per cent of the faculty voted in favour of fossil fuel divestment.

"On the ground at UVic and here in our community, we have a really strong progressive stance against polluters and the biggest despoilers of Indigenous lands and waters — which are the extractive industries and specifically the fossil fuel industry," Watts said. 

She said instead of targeting consumption practices, the university simply needs to remove all investments in the fossil fuel industry. 

"They've attempted to greenwash — or make it seem as though they're addressing the climate crisis — but in reality they are likely not going to change their holdings very much or make an impact with this vague policy they've put forward."

She says her group will continue to research and reconfigure, and possibly target the university's foundation board which has a larger fund. 

Other B.C. schools divesting

The divestment movement is an international movement to persuade large endowment fund holders like universities, pensions, and charities to stop investing in the fossil fuel industry to reduce climate change. 

Simon Fraser University's board of governors voted last November to cut its fossil fuel investments by 45 per cent by 2025 for its $400 million endowment fund.

The University of British Columbia voted to transfer $380 million from its nearly $2-billion endowment fund to a "sustainable fund" in November 2019. 

However in early January, a group of UBC students held a hunger strike to force the school to adopt a stronger stance on divestment from fossil fuels.  

In response, UBC president Santa Ono said the continued operation of the fossil fuel industry is "discordant" with a future safe from climate change and said the university is committed to full divestment "as soon as possible."