Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • “Every penny of our tuition fee becomes a missile fired at Palestinians”: Students vote against new definition of antisemitism at SGM
    • 2025 Queer Revue: A wild ride of wigs, fanfiction, and Pitbull 
    • I like my Lower House shaken, not stirred: LNP and Greens look to new leadership
    • 2025 USU Board Election Provisional Results Announced
    • 77 Years of Nakba: Thousands protest in Sydney against Israel’s Occupation
    • جذوري my roots
    • Patterns of a War-Torn Conscience: Towards a Healing Conceptualisation of Praxis
    • Enmore Psychogeography
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Monday, May 19
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»News

    Fossil Free USYD strike small victory on investment portfolio battleground

    By Joshua DabelsteinFebruary 9, 2015 News 2 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    The University of Sydney announced today that it has plans to lower the carbon footprint of its investment portfolio over the next three years.

    “We have set ourselves a goal to achieve a carbon footprint in three years that is 20 percent lower than the average weighted emission rate of the markets that the University invests in,” stated Sarah Watts, vice-principal of University operations in an email to students.

    The University is taking a whole-of-portfolio approach. This means that rather than divesting directly from fossil fuels, it has set a target to have an investment portfolio 20 percent less carbon intensive than the market average in three years.

    “This strategy reflects the strength of our community’s commitment to taking meaningful action on climate change,” says the email.

    “Sydney University has taken a great step forward,” said Fossil Free USYD spokesperson Clodagh Schofield. “By starting to take responsibility for the carbon we put in the atmosphere, the University has shown leadership in managing climate investment risks that should already be a standard industry wide.”

    “However, Sydney University should aim higher than standard. It’s five minutes to midnight on climate change, and we live in a country that has no viable policies to address this issue, and no plans on how to create a just transition to a viable, renewable economy.” she said.

    Schofield adds, “the University might have learned from media response to ANU’s announcement, which explains why they’ve used this strategy.” ANU’s decision last year to divest seven resource companies– Santos, Oil Search, Iluka Resources, Sandfire, Sirius, Newcrest and Independence Group– attracted outrage from the affected companies, claiming that the move was tokenistic and unfair.

    This move comes after significant campaigning from the student-run organisation Fossil Free USYD. Last semester, Fossil Free called for a referendum that saw students vote 80 percent in favour of divesting fossil fuels.

    Find out more abut Fossil Free USYD via their website: http://fossilfreeusyd.org/news/

    carbon footprint divestment fossil free homepage featured usyd

    Keep Reading

    “Every penny of our tuition fee becomes a missile fired at Palestinians”: Students vote against new definition of antisemitism at SGM

    2025 Queer Revue: A wild ride of wigs, fanfiction, and Pitbull 

    I like my Lower House shaken, not stirred: LNP and Greens look to new leadership

    2025 USU Board Election Provisional Results Announced

    77 Years of Nakba: Thousands protest in Sydney against Israel’s Occupation

    No Soap in the Box

    Just In

    “Every penny of our tuition fee becomes a missile fired at Palestinians”: Students vote against new definition of antisemitism at SGM

    May 19, 2025

    2025 Queer Revue: A wild ride of wigs, fanfiction, and Pitbull 

    May 18, 2025

    I like my Lower House shaken, not stirred: LNP and Greens look to new leadership

    May 17, 2025

    2025 USU Board Election Provisional Results Announced

    May 16, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025

    NSW universities in the red as plague of cuts hit students & staff

    April 30, 2025

    Your Compliance Will Not Save You

    April 16, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.