Category: Uncategorized
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USS and the genocide in Palestine
USS invests in over 40% of the companies supporting Israel’s genocidal actions in Palestine and their illegal occupation of Palestinian territory A recent ‘Don’t Buy into the Occupation’ report [1] has identified 104 companies that are involved in one or more of eleven “listed activities” that “contribute to the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT),…
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The People and Planet University Sustainability League 2025/26
The largest student campaigning network in the UK, People and Planet have just produced their 2025/26 league. This is compiled annually and ranks 147 UK universities by sustainable and ethics criteria. People and Planet and this league table has been very influential in getting 117 UK universities to divest their own funds from fossil fuels. And…
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USS response to petition on fossil fuel divestment
We have now received the response to our petition from Dame Kate Barker, the Chair of USS’s Board of Trustees. We might take some encouragement from their recognition that the Climate Crisis is a significant financial risk but this is undermined by the repetition of arguments that we have heard before – ‘already making good…
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Adding petrol to the fire
A new report by the group Market Forces has identified a global list of 200 companies with the biggest coal, oil and gas expansion plans. This group of companies is called the Fossil Fuel Expansion Index, or the FFX 200. Every company in this index is actively undermining the climate goals of the Paris Agreement and impeding…
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Do pension schemes need to do more on complicity?
(posted on AgeWage Nov 22 2025) An article by Dooley Harte Pension Official UCU In this piece Dooley analyses the links between pension investments and companies complicit with the destruction in Gaza. Focussing on USS he asks why USS has not followed the example of some other European pension funds and divested from ‘Israeli institutions,…
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Petition Update
We’ve now gathered over 900 signatures from a wide range of universities—across current, retired, and deferred members—including some of the UK’s leading climate scientists. We want to send a strong message to USS so we’re keeping the petition open until the end of October, and we’d really appreciate help spreading the word. Please share the petition link with friends and colleagues…
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Which? analyses which banks are most invested in fossil fuels (and confirms our concerns about USS investments)
Which? the Consumers’ Association has analysed 16 UK current account providers to identify which are the worst offenders with regard to fund further expansion of coal, oil and gas production. The seven ‘worst offenders’ were Chase (part of JP Morgan), Santander, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and Danske Bank. USS invests in all these banks with…
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Is USS going to invest in Sizewell C?
Until recently we thought that USS had decided against investing in Sizewell C but it seems they may have been offered a better financial deal by the Labour government. In summary the proposed power station to be built by EDF is an over complex design, highly likely to run over-budget and take at least 17…
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USS and the Dirty Dozen
A new report has studied the twelve largest publicly-owned producers of oil and gas – the “Dirty Dozen” – finding that these companies have been retreating from their climate commitments and have announced plans for the expansion of fossil fuel production in the coming years. Furthermore, there has been an increasing concentration of ownership of…
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Top 100 Public Investments Changes Sept 2024 – Dec 2024
Every quarter USS publish a list of their ‘top 100 public investments’. Here’s a brief summary of the main changes from September 2024 – December 2024. Sold doesn’t necessarily mean USS have completely sold their holding in that company, rather it has sold sufficient that it is no longer in the top 100 list. Similarly, bought…