GCU have an ethical investment policy in place that states ‘Direct investments in the fossil fuel, alcohol, tobacco and armaments sector will not be permissible.’ However, GCU has no direct investments at all, as all investments are managed indirectly by investment manager Rathbone Investment Management. Rathbone currently invests GCUs money in unethical companies such as Shell, JP Morgan (the worlds largest financer of fossil fuel expansion), and British Petroleum (BP). These investments actively contribute to the climate crisis and therefore do not align with the universities ‘ethical and environmental’ policies or its stated commitment to ‘the common good.’

I ask that the University instructs Rathbone to stop investing its money in the fossil fuel and arms industry, as well as banks which finance fossil fuel expansion and arms companies that supply human-rights-abusing regimes. Instead, the University should invest its capital into ‘impact investments’ which contribute new capital directly into climate and social justice solutions. In addition to divestment and positive reinvestment, it should also pressure all the companies it invests in to adopt gold-standard climate and social justice practices through robust engagement.