Forum Post
I’ve reached out to the HRS about fossil fuels in our retirement options and they only referred me to the Social Choice Equity Account via TIAA. Unfortunately, that one has 8% fossil fuel investments, including Exxon, Conoco Philips, Chevron, etc. Given our experiences with destabilization of our climate, causing extreme heat, wildfire, flooding, and more, it is clear that investments in fossil fuels is immoral.
I am concerned about the financial risks associated with investing my retirement savings in fossil fuel companies. Laws curbing the use of fossil fuels are being put in place, energy efficiency measures are being implemented across nearly every sector of the economy, and renewable energy is driving down demand for fossil fuel-based energy. These changes pose substantial financial risk to fossil fuel companies. One example of this growing risk: over the past five years, the largest U.S coal companies have gone bankrupt, while other U.S. based coal firms have lost nearly 90% of their stock value.
Socially responsible investing is no longer just an ethical issue. It is a key factor impacting financial well-being. New guidelines from the Department of Labor state that “environmental, social, and governance factors may have a direct relationship to the economic and financial value of an investment” and can be used when making decisions related to fiduciary duty.
There is an online tool, fossilfreefunds.org, which screens many commonly available mutual funds for investments in fossil fuel companies, and identifies funds that are socially responsible and fossil free. If none of our current plan options are socially responsible and fossil free, this tool could be used to find suitable mutual funds that could be included in our plan.
I would like to see WSU faculty and staff have the option to not invest their income into fossil fuels as well as deforestation. We should be investing in our future and the future of our children and future generations, not the collapse of a livable planet.
Thank you.
Claire Richards, College of Nursing Faculty
Response
We contacted HRS and were told that the issue will be reviewed by the university’s Investment Review and Plan Oversight Advisory Committee during its Fall committee meeting. The committee will review the investment plan options available through TIAA to determine if there is an investment option that does not have a fossil fuel component. They will also look at other vendors’ investment products. Following that review, if a product is identified, the committee can make a recommendation to add it to our investment options. Stay tuned for more information following this review process. – Faculty Senate Executive Officers
Comments
Thank you!