May 2, 2022 University of Maine System, Bangor, is divesting fossil fuel investments from its $461 million managed investment pool of endowment assets. The system’s investment committee at its April 28 meeting approved goals connected with the divestment, including short-term goals of divesting from all directly held equity and fixed-income investments in fossil fuel-related companies by May 31 and to […]
May 2, 2022
University of Maine System, Bangor, is divesting fossil fuel investments from its $461 million managed investment pool of endowment assets. The system’s investment committee at its April 28 meeting approved goals connected with the divestment, including short-term goals of divesting from all directly held equity and fixed-income investments in fossil fuel-related companies by May 31 and to make no new investments after that date.
The committee also approved the long-term goal of divesting from actively managed commingled fund and mutual fund investments in fossil fuel-related companies by 2030.
The system defines fossil fuel-related investments as the list of 200 global companies across the 100 largest public coal and 100 largest public oil and gas reserve owners (including oil sands reserve owners).
Maine is following a national trend. Loyola University Chicago’s approved a new sustainable investment policy that will lead to a divestment from many fossil fuel-related investments last October. Boston University divested from fossil fuels in September 2021. Many others are considering divestment in earnest since Putin invaded Ukraine using fossil fuel profits to fund his war.
