College Creates Climate Action Divestment Model

The Pitzer College Board of Trustees approved a Fossil Fuel Divestment-Climate Action Model that commits it to divest virtually all endowment investments in fossil fuel stocks by the end of the year.

Pitzer College said it is the first higher education institution in Southern California to commit to divesting its endowment of fossil fuel stocks.

Other features of the action model include:

• An environmental, social and governance policy to guide endowment investment decisions
• Creating the Pitzer Sustainability Fund within the endowment to make environmentally responsible investments
• Target a 25 percent reduction of the college’s carbon footprint from current levels by the end of 2016
• Establish a Campus Sustainability Taskforce to bolster on-campus measures to promote sustainability

In 2012, the College launched the Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability and opened four mixed-use residential buildings that earned LEED Platinum certification.