Illustration by Diva Jain
Choate Rosemary Hall currently invests 8-9% of its endowment in fossil fuels. In doing so, the school profits from an industry perpetuating global warming and destroying our environment. In spirit and in letter, these investments are at odds with the ethos of our community.
On Tuesday, April 12, Choate’s Chief Investment Officer, Mr. John Burditt, sat down with student representatives to discuss the school’s investment in fossil fuels. As Mr. Burditt confirmed, through financial managers, 8-9% of the Choate endowment is invested in fossil fuel companies. While many of these fossil fuel investments are bundled with other investments, two financial management firms retained by Choate Rosemary Hall — Sheridan Production Company, LLC and SFC Energy Partners — primarily invest in fossil fuel companies.
We took this information to dining hall tables, common room couches, and classroom discussions. With a diverse array of students, we developed a twelve-point plan that included social media outreach, a website, and if necessary, a protest in the dining hall servery. Ultimately, we distributed a petition, signed by hundreds of students but never submitted, asking the Board of Trustees to assemble a committee to explore divestment.
We also took this issue to Dr. Curtis. Originally unsure what to expect, we encountered immense support and enthusiasm. Dr. Curtis said, “I am firmly of the belief that the endowment should be part of this sustainability initiative.” He continued, “If fossil fuels become absolutely fundamental to the fund, that’s a place we can’t be.”
The Headmaster’s office has arranged for current students to propose fossil fuel divestment at the fall Board of Trustees meeting. We implore current third, fourth, and fifth formers to push for fossil fuel divestment, ensuring that Choate Rosemary Hall — a school which has shown that sustainable and net-zero living is possible — divests from an industry contradictory to its values.
Why is investment in fossil fuels bad? By investing in fossil fuels, Choate Rosemary Hall is condoning the fossil fuel industry and is complicit in the destruction the industry has perpetuated. If fossil fuel companies were to burn all the fuel in their reserves, it would release 2,795 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — four times the amount deemed safe to emit – with disastrous consequences for the environment. Those who doubt the detriments — or even the existence of climate change — should consider that 97% of scientists studying the issue have corroborated its existence. they should also consider that the fossil fuel industry has spent over 140 million dollars lobbying Congress to deny fossil fuels’ causal connection with climate change. The institution is not attempting to mitigate its harms, but rather to systematically deny them.
While Choate’s endowment is large (approximately $350 million), our divestment will clearly not bankrupt the fossil fuel industry. We accept that. The goal of divestment is to instead shed light on the detriments of the fossil fuel industry and ensure the school’s actions reflect its values. In the early 1980s, student activism led thousands of high schools and colleges across the world — including Choate — to divest from companies complicit in South African apartheid. Just as the work of divesting from certain South African companies led to critical change in the 1980s, we aim to start a critical conversation regarding our role in climate change.
In his Convocation Address at the beginning of the year, Dr. Curtis reminded us to “stand up and speak up for what we believe in.” We believe that bankrolling climate change is not a part of Choate Rosemary Hall’s mission. Help us divest from fossil fuels for a better Choate.
