Investment strategy – exclusions to be applied to DB fund

(adapted from USS Investment Builder (DC) Ethical Guidelines)

Press USS to develop and publish an investment strategy that properly encompasses known climate risks and the scientific evidence of the impact of at least 2-2.5 degrees of warming during the lifespans of young members of the scheme. 

1 Investments that directly risk future financial returns (20-30 year horizon) due to accelerating global heating 

As far as practical avoid new investments in and divest by year end 2026 from companies with more than 10% of turnover from the following activities:

• Production of fossil fuels and resource extraction particularly those using processes with particularly high carbon emissions (fracking, coal tar sands)
• Banks funding fossil fuel extraction and processing 
• Industries that lead to significant deforestation 
• Large scale nuclear power
• Intensive/industrial animal based agriculture

2 Unethical investments

Press USS to review its ethical policies and cease investments in companies which are clearly engaged in unethical activities such as:

• Arms and weapons production including ‘defensive’ weapons systems
• Companies complicit in business activities in territories illegally occupied under international law
• Gambling
• Pornography
• Involvement in bribery and corruption as evidenced by legal prosecution
• Violation of human and labour rights
• Pollution that is not actively minimised, or other similar environmental factors
• The use or trade of threatened species, or other activities harmful to animal welfare.
• Cosmetics, where animal welfare is not assured

Building the campaign

• Publish regular campaign updates through blog and bluesky
• Work with UCU to pursue common goals
• Work to encourage Universities to press USS to invest pension funds in manner consistent with their own university’s divestment decisions
• Work with student groups – SOS-UK, People and Planet, local green reps and others to achieve campaign aims

Engagement with members and Universities

Press USS to:

• survey all members in a published 2 year cycle as to their views on ethical investing and in particular investing in companies that amplify the Climate Emergency. Publish the results of all surveys with action plans as to how USS intends to respond. 
• directly disseminate perfomance data on DC fund options when members join DC scheme and through member’s annual statements
• provide a clear and separate strategy and annual review on its packaged investment vehicles – where this money is going and how they are interrogating the alignment of these investment with USS policies and goals
• provide a quantitative analysis each year on progress on carbon emissions which is independently verified