De Anza students move Foundation to vote for fossil fuel divesture

Responding to a thoughtful campaign by students and citing the community college district’s commitment to environmental sustainability, the Board of Directors of the Foothill-De Anza Foundation has voted to discontinue direct investments in fossil fuel companies and minimize investments in commingled assets that include such companies.

The board set a deadline of June 30, 2014, to divest from companies with the largest holdings of unburned carbon reserves as determined using Fossil Free’s Carbon Tracker of the top 200 fossil fuel companies.

The unanimous vote Oct. 23 makes the Foothill-De Anza Foundation the first community college foundation in the nation to commit to divesting from fossil fuels, according to Jamie Henn, communications director for 350.org, a leader in the national divestment movement.

Read the complete story on the Foothill-De Anza website. For more information, contact Foothill-De Anza communications coordinator Becky Bartindale at bartindalebecky@fhda.edu or 650.949.6107.

Congratulations to the students and Foothill-De Anza community members who made this possible.

Learn more about the issues surrounding fossil fuels and climate change at 350.org. Visit the Go Fossil Free website to see which other colleges and organizations are working on campaigns.