Georgetown University to drop coal shares

OREANDA-NEWS. June 09, 2015. Georgetown University's governing board has decided to drop coal mining company stocks from its endowment, joining a growing number of institutions backing away from coal investments.

Under the 4 June resolution, Georgetown of Washington, DC, will not directly invest or continue to invest its \\$1.5bn endowment fund in any coal mining company. The nation's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university will also "encourage" its external investment managers to avoid funds that include coal companies in their portfolios.

The resolution was drafted and presented this spring to the board of directors by a study group called Georgetown University Fossil Free and the university's Committee on Investing and Social Responsibility, comprised of students and staff.

Divesting would align the university's investment decisions with its long-term sustainability goals and one of its core commitments to demonstrate environmental protection and mitigate climate change, Georgetown said.

The university will start by evaluating its portfolio "to divest of any companies on the list of top 100 coal companies that our student organization, GU Fossil Free, has provided," the school told Argus.

Georgetown's board approved the resolution after nearly two years of discussions and analysis among students, faculty and university staff.

A number of other institutions have decided to move away from fossil fuel investments in recent months. The California state Senate passed a bill this week that would push the state's public pension systems, the largest in the US, to drop thermal coal company stocks. In mid-May, the University of Washington revised its investment strategy to avoid coal mining companies.

On the international front, the UK's Oxford University made a similar move last month. The Norwegian Parliament reached an agreement to get its Government Pension Fund Global out of coal shares.