Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Committee on Fossil Fuels Divestment

In June 2020, the University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees decided to activate its new SRI screening process and create an ad-hoc committee to study whether Pitt should divest its endowment from fossil fuels.

At its June 26, 2020 meeting, the University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees decided to activate the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) screening process it adopted in February 2020 to create an ad-hoc committee that will study whether the university should divest its endowment from fossil fuels.  The committee will be chaired by Board Member Dawne S. Hickton (Pitt Law ’83) and report to the Board over the next year.

This process is separate from the University’s March adoption of an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Policy that will guide the University as it makes investment decisions regarding its endowment.  The first report on Pitt’s ESG strategies is expected by the end of 2021.

These actions build on the July 2019 report of the University of Pittsburgh’s past Socially Responsible Investment Committee, which Chancellor Patrick Gallagher addressed in an August 2019 letter detailing the university’s next steps towards considering sustainable investment strategies.