This website is no longer updated, and is here for archive reasons only. You can learn more about the University's responsible investment on our new Responsible Investment website.
The University of Edinburgh was the first university in Europe to commit to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment.
Since then, we have carried out a consultation process involving students, staff and alumni to help determine how we should best take forward our commitment to responsible investment. Subsequently, following a request from our Students' Association, the University set up a Fossil Fuels Review Group to consider the case for divestment of University assets from fossil fuel companies.
The Fossil Fuels Review Group included a Vice President of the Students Association, academic experts from the School of GeoSciences, the School of Law and the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, a member of the University's Investment Committee and senior University managers.
Following careful consideration of evidence, the Fossil Fuels Review Group provided a number of recommendations in a substantial report on the issue. The Central Management Group received and considered the report of the Group, and it went on to be approved by the University Court at its meeting on 11 May.
The University has published its new Responsible Investment Policy statement.
This statement summarises the approach the University takes to responsible investing, and highlights the progress made along with actions planned in response to policy decisions and strategic objectives relating to environmental, social and governance considerations.
You can learn more about the University's responsible investment on our main website.
The launch of the campaign follows the development of the University’s first climate strategy and its ongoing review of its investments portfolio. As part of its commitment to responsible investment, Edinburgh recently divested from three of the world’s biggest coal and tar sands companies – Shell, RTZ and BHP Billiton.
In the interest of transparency, we have provided a searchable archive of the evidence reviewed by the group, details of the review process, and the minutes of each meeting.
Use the search box on the right to search by keyword, category or sub-category, or jump straight to to minutes, reports or evidence.
If you require this information in another format, such as large print, please email Jane.Rooney@ed.ac.uk or phone 0131 651 5588.
| Name | Type | Category | Sub-Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Science Overview | Evidence | Climate Science | |
| IEA Key World Energy Statistics | Evidence | Climate Science | |
| IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Summary for Policmakers | Evidence | Climate Science | |
| IPCC – Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories |  | Evidence | Climate Science |
| Fossil Free Indexes – Carbon Underground 2015 | | Evidence | Fossil Fuel Dependence, Mitigation and Relative Contributions |
| Kerr Evidence to Inform the Fossil Fuel Review | Evidence | Fossil Fuel Dependence, Mitigation and Relative Contributions | |
| BlackRock Responsible Investment Report | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| BlackRock Responsible Investment Website | | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural |
| Cambridge Associates FF Divestment | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Connolly UoE FF Exposures to 31.12.14 | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Consultation response summary | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Gorman UNPRI Paper to CMG | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Gorman UNPRI consultation paper | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Gorman UNPRI summary paper | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Hendey – Does Divestment Work | | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural |
| Hermes Services Overview | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Smith School Stranded Assets | Evidence | Investment, Financial, Behavioural | |
| Bloemen SRS courses at UoE | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| Curtis Geosciences Research Income | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| Curtis Input from GeoSciences | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| Gorman Higgins and Pirie SRS in Learning and Teaching Paper to SEAG | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| Jeffery Themes in RAE and REF | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| McCann Engineering submission to FFRG | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| REF submission Engineering | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| REF submission Geosciences | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| REF submission Politics | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| REF submission Sociology | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| Slaven Data from Research Explorer | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| Slaven Graduate destinations | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| UoE Academics Open Letter to Principal | Evidence | Learning, Teaching, Research | |
| People and Planet FF Divestment Brief | Evidence | University values | |
| Strategic Plan 2012 16 | Evidence | University values | |
| University of Edinburgh Climate Action Plan 2010 | Evidence | University values | |
| University of Edinburgh SRS Strategy | Evidence | University values | |
| Values Overview | Evidence | University values | |
| Glasgow SRIP Review | Evidence | Other universities | |
| Glasgow SRIP Second Report | Evidence | Other universities | |
| Gorman Decisions made by other universities on fossil fuel divestment | Evidence | Other universities | |
| Gorman Divestment Decisions | Evidence | Other universities | |
| Harvard Confronting Climate Change | | Evidence | Other universities |
| Harvard divestment statement | | Evidence | Other universities |
| Stanford decision | | Evidence | Other universities |
| Letter to BHP | Letters | To Fossil Fuel Companies | |
| Letter to Rio Tinto | Letters | To Fossil Fuel Companies | |
| Letter to Royal Dutch Shell | Letters | To Fossil Fuel Companies | |
| Membership and Remit | Review | Membership and Remit | |
| 11 February 2015 Minute | Review | Minutes | |
| 12 January 2015 Minute | Review | Minutes | |
| 2 April 2015 Minute | Review | Minutes | |
| 2 March 2015 Minute | Review | Minutes | |
| 27 November 2014 Minute | Review | Minutes | |
| 5 November 2014 Minute | Review | Minutes | |
| CMG Minute Oct 2014 | Review | Minutes | |
| Central Management Group April minute extract | Review | Minutes | |
| Central Management Group January minute extract | Review | Minutes | |
| Court May minute extract | Review | Minutes | |
| Divestment Review Group Proposed Process October 2014 | Review | Process | |
| FFRG Report to CMG April 2015 | Review | Reports | |
| Gorman FFRG January Update to CMG | Review | Reports | |
| Public statements released during review process | | Review | Reports |
| UoE_Fossil_Fuel_Investment_Policy QandA | Review | Reports | |
| UoE_Fossil_Fuel_Investment_Policy Statement | Review | Reports | |
| UoE_Fossil_Fuel_Review_Group_Report | Review | Reports |
Full report