In the News

Last September the Carleton Responsible Investment Committee (CRIC) recommended to the Board of Trustees that the College divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies. The Board refused to follow this recommendation.  One of the key reasons CRIC gave for their recommendation was that these companies use their political clout to slow the transition to a low carbon economy, a transition which is necessary to prevent catastrophic global climate change impacts.

The recent interest in fossil fuel divestment — to choose not to include holdings in the top fossil fuel companies in the endowment — is not a new development, but has its roots in Carleton’s past. Unfortunately, the exact facts, figures, and results of this history have not always been accurately expressed, hampering attempts to place the topic in its correct context.

When you hear the word CRIC what usually comes to mind? The chirping of crickets, a new noise in a comic book, or an organization of students, faculty and staff that advise the Board of Trustees on Carleton’s endowment and fights off crime (okay, perhaps without that last part)? CRIC — an acronym for the Carleton Responsible Investment Committee — has been running in Carleton for over eight years and advises the Board of Trustees on how to vote as certain issues arise in the Carleton Community.

Talk of divestment is very much in the air on campus. Divest from fossil fuels! Divest from Philip Morris! Divest from Nestle! Divest from divestment! Pushing for divestment is one way students, staff, and faculty try to get the College to approach its endowment in an ethically responsible way.

In what ways do our lives as Carleton students, faculty, and staff depend on the stock market and the larger economy? To what extent are we embedded in it, and how can we influence it? 

The Carleton Lens student-run magazine ran an article in Winter of 2013 which talks about the Carleton Responsible Investment Committee.

On Tuesday, May 10th, 3M held its Annual Shareholders Meeting in St. Paul. Three members of the Carleton Responsible Investing Committee (CRIC) – Fadi Hakim ’13, Kristen Vellinger ’12, and Professor Joel Weisberg – attended the meeting to speak on behalf of the Carleton Responsible Investing Committee.  The committee seeks to address social, environmental, and governance issues in Carleton’s endowment.

Carleton Students Attend 3M Shareholder Meeting in 2011

See the full article at:  http://www.startribune.com/business/121598394.html

The members of CRIC spent the fall carefully sifting through upcoming resolutions that would be voted on during spring shareholder meetings. After consideration and discussion of Carleton values and also weighing economic considerations, we decided to focus on three areas: sustainability, excessive executive compensation, and workers’ rights.

For the past two weeks, the Carleton Responsible Investment Committee (CRIC) conducted a survey to gauge what ethical issues pertinent to shareholder resolutions are most important to the Carleton community. The survey will be published in the committee’s Year End Report which will be accessible from the CRIC website.

When the CSA polls closed Wednesday, May 20th at 11:55 p.m., there were 702 votes for disinvestment from Sudan and 169 votes against a disinvestment policy.

Even though the referendum passed with 81 percent of students for disinvestment it is unclear if the strong student voice will make a different when it comes to change. Arguably, the voting was for naught.