On September 13, 2016, Otago University announced that they were withdrawing their investments in coal, gas and oil. This was a hard-won campaign that took a huge amount of work by dedicated students, staff and supporters. Much celebrating was had. Otago University is the second New Zealand university to divest from fossil fuels, after Victoria University of Wellington.
What we asked for
Our criteria were for the University of Otago and the Foundation Trust to create a socially responsible investment policy in which these entities commit to
- immediately freeze any new investments in fossil fuel extraction
- divesting of all holdings, direct and indirect, the from fossil fuel extraction industry within five years, and
- screening for, and excluding, fossil fuel extraction from all of the entities’ future investment portfolios.