Princeton University is dumping the fossil fuel holdings in its $38bn endowment, the school’s board of trustees announced Thursday.
The school listed 90 oil and gas companies from which it will dissociate, meaning that it will divest from the companies and also avoid any business relationships with them. The dissociation is “focused on the most-polluting segments of the industry”, including companies with significant business in thermal coal and tar sands, according to the announcement.
Princeton made the decision last year to move away from fossil fuel holdings in its endowment but just recently had its board of trustees vote on the list of companies to exclude. The most prominent name on the list is ExxonMobil, but it also includes energy producers such as Xcel Energy and Alliant Energy.
The measure is part of the board’s goal to eventually have a net-zero endowment portfolio. Princeton used data to compile the list of companies based on recommendations from a faculty panel, according to the announcement.
Along with the dissociation, the university is planning to start a fund that will be used to support energy research. That will be necessary in order to make up for a drop in research funding that will result from cutting ties with the energy companies on its list, the school stated.
