Category: Uncategorized

  • DivestUSS meeting with USS Oct. 31st 2023

    DivestUSS met with USS senior managers on October 31st to discuss our concerns about USS’s continued investment in fossil fuels. We asked three key questions: 1.  What steps is USS taking to assess member’s views on divestment? 2. USS this year voted against the Boards of both Shell and BP to register concern at the lack of…

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  • New petition to USS on climate policy, ethics, investments and governance reform.

    Save Pensions and Planet have launched a petition for USS climate and ethical policy changes and governance reform. Signatories are asked to support Read more and sign here.

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  • USS is investing in companies profiting from and supporting the illegal occupation of Palestinian Territories

    Data reveal that USS is currently investing in 19 of 50 leading businesses recently found to be actively involved in the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as the majority of the top lenders to and investors in those companies. These 19 companies include AirBNB, Cisco, Motorola, Caterpillar, Puma, Expedia, Bookings and…

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  • Why fossil fuels are not a good investment

    A recent analysis by Thomas Da Costa Vieira, a political economist at the London School of Economics and Political Science, argues that fiduciary duty should tell USS to get out of fossil fuels. Key points: Read more here.

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  • USS Institutions meeting November 2023

    USS is holding its annual meeting with senior university leaders at the end of November to outline its current policies, financial standing and outlook. This will include a discussion on its response to the climate emergency. DivestUSS have produced a briefing for attendees providing a summary of the problems with USS’s actions and policies, and…

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  • Publication of survey into preferences for sustainable investment by USS members

    The academic report of a survey into USS members’ preferences on sustainable investment has now been published https://www.netspar.nl/assets/uploads/Netspar-Design-Paper-228-WEB.pdf This revealed strong support for sustainable investing.

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  • Thames Water

    The government is reported to be standing by in case of the collapse of Thames Water [“UK government convenes emergency talks over Thames Water” FT 28th June 2023]. One of the largest shareholders in Thames Water is the Universities Superannuation Fund (USS), who doubled their holdings to a nearly 20% equity stake in December 2021. DivestUSS…

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  • Help stop your pension fuelling climate change

    On Friday 24 March 2023 we held the Divest USS: Help stop your pension fuelling climate change online forum for university staff and students as part of UK Divest’s national Day of Action. You can watch the recording here. The event was chaired by Ellie Harrison (University of Dundee) and featured presentations about the Divest…

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  • Calling university students to get involved in the campaign

    We’re working with Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) to encourage students to get involved in the Divest USS campaign. If you’re a student at a UK University, there’s a simple action that you can take. Please download our template motion and ask your Students’ Union/Association Representatives to submit it to your University’s finance committee. Please…

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  • The Economic Case against investing in fossil fuels

    USS keep arguing that it is their fiduciary duty to focus on generating as much income from their investments as possible despite the evidence that many members want them to stop investing in fossil fuels and other high carbon investments and also stop funding new oil and gas fields through corporate bonds. This article makes…

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