University Of Southampton to ‘Go Green’ with ethical investing, sell fossil fuel shares

Fossil fuel based companies are being abandoned in a big win for Invest Positive

environment ethical fuel investing Shell University

The University of Southampton yesterday announced they will no longer be investing in fossil fuel-based companies. The move has been made after the appointment of Kames Capital as the new fund manager for the University’s endowment investments.

This marks a shift towards more ethical investing, as money received from donations will no longer be invested in any companies which are fossil fuel related. Instead, money will now be invested in the Kames Ethical Cautious Managed Fund, an investment vehicle which screens companies on various ethical standards.

The University had previously invested in fossil-fuel based companies including Shell

This news comes following a lengthy campaign by the student led group, ‘Invest Positive’, who have worked for the last year to encourage the University to make more ethical investment choices.

In a Facebook post yesterday the co-founder of the group, Mike Allwright, commented that “It is wonderful to see that progress is possible” He went on to explain  the Kames Ethical Cautious Managed Fund will mean  “the University does not profit from the dirtiest sources of energy; socially destructive industries or human rights abuses.”

Southampton is not the first University to move towards more ethical investing. Others, such as Sheffield and Warwick, have also previously received positive media coverage about ending investment in coal and tar sands.

However, there have been some concerns from engineering students at the University that this disinvestment in companies, such as Shell, will impair their future job prospects.

Addressing their concerns in a previous interview with the Soton Tab, Mike Allwright stressed that “engineering students here are excellently trained [and that]The Universities choice of investment doesn’t impact the safety of their future”