The University of Pittsburgh’s board of trustees passed a resolution Friday supporting a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2037, part of what school Chancellor Patrick Gallagher described as a significant escalation of Pitt’s sustainability efforts.
The motion is among measures adopted by the board related to sustainability, environment and climate change.
Pitt also will develop a screening process to pursue socially responsible investing strategies.
Those strategies will consider "environmental, social and governance factors," according to university officials.
The moves do not include divestment of existing fossil fuel stocks like gas, oil and coal from Pitt’s $4.3 billion endowment — an action that student and community activists with the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition are seeking.
However, Mr. Gallagher said addressing climate change goes beyond investing, and he said making the university’s carbon emissions net neutral will have broad impacts in and outside the classroom — from procuring paper and feeding the campus to the kind of automobiles Pitt will use.
“This is not a frivolous (activity). This is an aggressive, meaningful goal,” he said.
During the meeting, about 100 protesters interrupted the proceedings with chants before they were ordered to leave, singing, “We shall not be moved” as police officers ushered them out.
Afterward, a statement from Fossil Free Pitt said the trustees’ actions “are an important first step” but do not amount to action its members sought.
“ ... we demanded a vote on divestment last September which gave the board six months to research the issue or reach out to us to learn more,” the statement quoted and organizer, Emily Giudici, as saying. “The board has done neither and refuses to vote. The board’s inaction affects thousands of students and the greater community.”
The board of trustees retains retains sole authority to decide investment practices, with the primary criteria being financial performance, Mr. Gallagher said.
However, when concerns warrant, the chancellor — after consulting with the board chair — can relay them immediately to trustees for review and appropriate action or can form an ad hoc committee for further analysis.
Mr. Gallagher noted in remarks Friday that unwise investment decisions can undermine the institution and its mission. But he also said Pitt has a responsibility to act.
“Great universities should tackle great challenges,” he said.
The carbon neutral resolution states in part that Pitt “shares the consensus of the global scientific community that the planet’s climate is rapidly changing in ways that pose unprecedented challenges for the present and future.”
Protesters at the meeting included some who for the last week have staged a sit-in within the Cathedral of Learning’s Commons Room.
Mr. Gallagher said in August that Pitt would explore the idea of socially responsible investing after a committee on the matter released a report earlier in the summer.
Board Chair Eva Tansky Blum said trustees “took two meaningful steps to address the reality and threat of climate change. Now, I will immediately consult with the board committee chairs on next steps” regarding the socially responsible investing process.
Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1977 and on Twitter: @Bschackner
Updated at 6:24 p.m. on Feb. 28, 2020
First Published: February 28, 2020, 8:02 p.m.
