The Divest CSU Campaign is a coalition of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members working to build a more just, sustainable future. Our campaign is modeled after the successful Divest Harvard Campaign and supports other campaigns across the country working to pressure universities to divest from fossil fuel investments.
Our Four Demands:
1. DISCLOSE:
We call on CSU to present all current direct and indirect investments in the fossil fuel industry in a clear, accessible way. The university will continue to disclose this information in an annual report.
2. DIVEST:
The fossil fuel industry is actively responsible for the climate crisis, and CSU must release a statement declaring its commitment to divest its endowment from direct and indirect holdings in the fossil fuel industry. They must also provide a comprehensive plan, including a timeline, for how they will achieve this.
3. REINVEST:
We call on CSU to reinvest the money they are removing from the fossil fuel industry to support environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and community-based investments. CSU will work with alumni, students, and community members to determine a new reinvestment plan that centers environmental justice and repairing damages done by the fossil fuel industry.
4. TAKE A STAND:
We challenge CSU to use its power as the socio-political, economic and intellectual center of Fort Collins, and the greater Northern Colorado area, to advocate for a sustainable and just future. This includes taking a stand against fracking and working on inclusive environmental policy for the community at large.
A fossil-free world is possible! We need everyone in our community – including you! – to help build that world. Do you have ideas for how CSU could better use its resources to build a just and sustainable world? Send us a message or post on social media @divestcsu!
What is Fossil Fuel Divestment?
Divestment is the opposite of investment, and it means removing your support – in this case, financial support. For CSU Divestment, it means getting rid of any endowment funds, such as stocks, bonds, or other investment funds, that are unethical or morally opaque.
Colorado State University has a moral obligation to invest in the future of its students and the broader community. The university’s mission statement reads:
“Colorado State University is committed to excellence, setting the standard for public research universities in teaching, research, service, and extension for the benefit of the citizens of Colorado, the United States, and the world.”
CSU Mission Statement
If CSU is truly committed to fulfilling its mission of setting the standard for service to the benefit of the citizens of the world, then it would do everything in its power to stop the climate crisis – the global, existential crisis of our time. We are witnessing the impacts of the climate crisis here in Fort Collins in a variety of ways, and each year we see record-setting wildfires across our state, including the Cameron Peak Fire that turned the skies over our city red for weeks.
Divesting from fossil fuels is a moral obligation and denounces the fossil fuel industry’s responsibility for the climate crisis. By divesting from fossil fuels, CSU would educate Coloradoans on this industry’s destructive influence in all areas of our society and civic life. Divestment also works to break the hold that the fossil fuel industry has on our economy and institutions.
Why Should You Care?
We are all experiencing the effects of the climate crisis – and if we continue on our current path, things will only get worse. We only get one earth, and it’s up to all of us to do our part to protect it!
Did you know that just 90 companies are responsible for nearly two-thirds of industrial greenhouse gas emissions? What if we stopped giving them money? The financial sector is funding the climate crisis, and divesting is one of the most important ways we can address the climate crisis.
-Science.org
Divesting from fossil fuels is in the interest of students, the Fort Collins community, and the world. But institutions like Colorado State University won’t decide to divest on their own – even if it is the right move financially and morally. We need to build a movement to pressure them to divest, and we need you! From signing petitions to community organizing, direct action, getting the word out, creating art, and more, there’s a place for you in this movement.
Building the just, sustainable world we deserve will take all of us, and everyone is welcome here!
Take Action!
- Sign the Divest CSU Petition and learn more at DivestCSU.org!
- Share your support & ideas with Divest CSU through this Google form
- Follow Divest CSU on social media – Instagram @divestcsu – Facebook Divest CSU
- Talk about this campaign and divestment with people you know
- Personally divest – here is a guide to ethical investing!
- Inspired to work towards other divestment campaigns? Join the 350 Colorado divestment committee or learn about the national Stop the Money Pipeline Campaign
Ready to Take Action?
Divest CSU 