ARESOLUTIONtotheBoardofDirectorsforthe

WESTERNWASHINGTONUNIVERSITYFOUNDATION

WHEREAS
WesternWashingtonUniversitysmissionistoprovideaninclusive,
studentcentered
universitythatdevelopsthepotentialoflearnersandthewellbeingof
communitiesand,

WHEREAS
WWUclaimstobeamodelfor
sustainability
anda
responsible

steward
of
resourcesand,

WHEREAS
WWUclaimstobecommittedtoopen,passionate,andcivildiscourse,leadingto
transparentandwellinformeddecisionmaking
and,

WHEREAS
WWUisdedicatedtobeingaleaderin
societalproblemsolving
and,

WHEREAS
TheWWUFoundationworkstoa
dvancethemissionoftheUniversit
yand,

WHEREAS
,climatechangeisindisputablyoneofthemostcriticalchallengesofourtime1and,

WHEREAS
WWUresolvedinits2010ClimateActionPlantoachievenetcarbonneutralityby
2050(IPCC,2009)and,

WHEREAS
PresidentShepardhasstatedhumancausedglobalwarmingis,beyondanydoubt,
oneofthegreatestthreatsfacinghuman(andnonhuman)kind2and,

WHEREAS
,amajorityofcurrentreservesoffossilfuelsmustnotbeburnedinordertoavoida
3
catastrophicriseintemperatures
and,

WWUFoundationGoverningBoardDivestmentStudyCommittee.2014.FindingsandRecommendationstothe
BoardRegardingDivestment
.
2

Shepard,B.September16th,2014.ShouldWesternWashingtonUniversityendinvestmentsinfossilfuel
companies?.BrucesBlog.
3

WorkinggroupIIIContributiontotheIPCCThirdAssessmentReport,ClimateChange2001.3.8.3Historic
TrendsandDrivingForces.

WHEREAS
,thefossilfuelindustryseeksbothtoextractallprovenreservesandcontinuesto
4
spendtrillionsexploringnewreserves
and,

WHEREAS
,thepowerofdivestmentliesinstigmatizingthefossilfuelindustryandbringing
theirpracticesunderscrutiny,changingsocialnormstothepointthatthesepracticesbecome
unacceptableand,

WHEREAS
,thefossilfuelindustryspent64milliondollarsinthe2014electioncycleandspent
160milliondollarslobbyingin2013,withanOxfamreportstatingfossilfuelinterestsspend
millionsofdollarseveryyearlobbyingtodefendtheirbottomline,giventhattheyhavesomuch
tolosefromambitiousclimateregulation5 6 and,

WHEREAS
,pastdivestmentcampaignsweresuccessfulinlobbyingforrestrictivelegislation
3
affectingstigmatisedfirmsfromDarfurtotobaccotoSouthAfrica
and,

WHEREAS
,youngergenerations,peopleofmarginalizedidentities,especiallyindigenous
peoplearedisproportionatelyaffectedbythedestructionthattheunrestricteduseoffossilfuels
haswrought7and,

WHEREAS
,inthehighturnoutASWWUElectionof2013,86percentofstudentsvotedin
favorofdivestment

and,

WHEREAS
,thefacultyandstaffofWesternWashingtonUniversitylargelysupportdivestment,
withmorethan300signaturestoaletterurgingtheWWUFoundationtodivestand,

WHEREAS
,hundredsofWWUalumnidonorshavesignedinsupportoffossilfueldivestment
and,

Ansar,A.,Caldecott,B.,&Tilbury,J.(2013).Strandedassetsandthefossilfueldivestmentcampaign:whatdoes
divestmentmeanforthevaluationoffossilfuelassets.
StrandedAssetsProgramme,SSEE,UniversityofOxford
.
5

OxfamInternational.October17th,2014.
Food,FossilFuels,andFilthyFinance
.Retrievedfrom
https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp191fossilfuelsfinanceclimatechange1710
14en.pdf
6
CenterforResponsivePolitics.2015.
OilandGasIndustryTotals
.Retrievedfrom
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/totals.php?cycle=2014&ind=E01
7

Salick,J.,&Byg,A.(2007).Indigenouspeoplesandclimatechange.
TyndallCenterforClimateChange
Research,Oxford
.

WHEREAS
,theUniversityofWashingtonhasdivestedfromcoal,withUWBoardofRegents
chairBillAyerstatingthat
wedecidedtodivestfromcoalcompaniestodayreflectsthe
seriousnessoftheclimatechangeproblem8
and,

WHEREAS
,majorglobalbankssuchasHSBCareadvisingclientsagainstfossilfuel
investments,warningthatfossilfuelcompanieswillbeeconomicallynonviableand

strandingriskshavebecomemuchmoreurgentforinvestorstoaddress9and,

WHEREAS
,theconcernthatcompanieswithtiestofossilfuelswillremovesupportfromthe
universityisunfoundedandspeculativeatbest,beingthatWesternwillneitherbechangingthe
qualityofitseducation,contentofitsresearch,orlevelofpreparationofitsgraduatesand,

WHEREAS
,Commonfundisalreadyintheprocessofmakingafossilfreefundavailabletoits
clients,includingWWU10and,

WHEREAS,
thedecisionmakingprocessoftheWWUFoundationBoardregardingdivestment
largelywasnottransparent,takingplacewithlittlestudentaccessorinvolvementand,

WHEREAS,
theASWWUBoardofDirectorsof20132014unanimouslyurgedtheFoundation
Boardtofreezeallfurtherinvestmentsinfossilfuelsbytheendof2014,andtodivestwithin
fiveyearsfromthetop200fossilfuelcompanies11and,

WHEREAS,
InSeptember2014theWWUFoundationBoardvotedtoremaininvestedinsaid
12
companies. and,

WHEREAS,
TheWesternWashingtonUniversityFoundationisanonprofit,public501(c)(3)
organizationthatadvancesthemissionoftheUniversity:
By

inspiringourcommunitytogive,
wesecureandstewardprivateresourcestoadvancescholarship,researchandcreativity
13
therefore

Balta,V.May14th,2015.UWRegentsvotetodivestfromcoalcompanies.
UWToday
.
http://www.washington.edu/news/2015/05/14/uwregentsvotetodivestfromcoalcompanies/
9

Hurst,L.April21st,2015.HSBCWarnsClientsofFossilFuelInvestmentRisks.
Newsweek
.
http://europe.newsweek.com/hsbcwarnsclientsfossilfuelinvestmentrisks323886
10

Farrington,R.(2015,May15).DirectorofStrategicSolutionsGroup.Wilton,CT,USA.
11

WWUAssociatedStudents.March12th,2014.
WesternWashingtonUniversityAssociatedStudentsBoardof
DirectorsMeeting
(Meetingminutes).
12

Bowers,S.September2014.September2014CampaignInsider,retrivedfrom
http://www.wwu.edu/alumni/eblast2014/campaign/sept.html
13
WWUFoundation.2015.AbouttheFoundation,retrievedfrom
http://www.wwu.edu/campaign/learn/foundation/
8

BEITRESOLVED,
TheAssociatedStudentsofWesternWashingtonUniversityfindthatthe
WWUFoundationisnotadvancingthemissionoftheUniversity,byignoringitscommitmentto
opendiscourseandtransparentdecisionmaking.

BEITRESOLVED,
TheASWWU
strongly
urgestheWWUFoundationtobemoreinclusive
ofstudentsintheirdecisionmakingprocess,thereforeincreasingtheirtransparency.

BEITALSORESOLVED,
TheASWWU
strongly
urgestheWWUFoundationtoadvancethe
aforementionedmissionandcommitmentsofWWUthroughdivestmentfromfossilfuel
extractioncompanies.