Sterling Terrain V02 - Flipbook - Page 9
Sterling College | 7
never be able to exploit if the world cuts its fossil fuel use
enough to meet a 2° warming target (which has in recent
years been reduced to 1.5°). As a result, fossil fuel companies have seen it much harder to raise capital on Wall Street,
and they now must pay a higher cost for the capital they
do raise. All of that has slowed fossil fuel companies from
drilling for more oil.
Second, the awareness of the risk of stranded assets provided a helpful backdrop for the grassroots, indigenous-led
fight against the development of oil and gas pipelines needed to exploit Canada’s tar sands. Several pipelines were
canceled, buying humanity slightly more time to wean itself from fossil fuels.
Third, it saved gobs of money for those investors who divested. Fossil fuel stocks have performed extremely poorly
over the past decade. The S&P 500 has gained 274% over
the decade, while major oil and gas stocks have gained just
46% (and were in negative territory until late 2021, before
the recent spike in energy prices). Investors who divested
from fossil fuels were rewarded with better investment returns than those that didn’t. Sterling’s endowment was no
exception – it is larger than it would have been had the College invested in fossil fuel companies over the past decade.
In 2021, Sterling’s Board of Trustees refreshed the investment policy that had codified our divestment commitment.
The Board added a more comprehensive environmental, social, and governance approach to bring the policy into harmony with the College’s social and ecological mission. That
meant the addition of both negative and positive screening criteria for the endowment’s investments. Among the
new criteria, the endowment aims to seek out investments
in companies with socially and environmentally beneficial products and services, strong climate policies, and
explicit policies ensuring equality for LGBTQ+ employees.
The new policy prohibits investments in companies that
operate private prisons, participate in factory farming, or
that are involved in agricultural biotechnology, among other social and environmental screens.
Fossil fuel divestment won’t solve the climate crisis – it is
just one modest tool in our activist toolbox. But aligning
the College’s investment policy with its mission has been a
small contribution to the broader movement while proving
to be a wise investment decision.
Interested in making a gift
to the Sterling endowment?
Contact Christina Goodwin ‘02,
Vice President for Advancement
(cgoodwin@sterlingcollege.edu).
In Honor of
Rian Fried
Rian Fried was a trustee, friend, and an
inspiration, not only leaving his legacy
through the College’s endowment divestment but also through the legacy his
friends and family established in his honor.
The Rian Fried Center for Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Sterling was
established in 2014 to recognize Rian as a
pioneer in social investment and a patron
of the local food movement after his death
in 2013.
In the mid 1980’s Rian co-founded Clean
Yield Asset Management, an asset management company that supported the
growth of food based companies, such as
Vermont Smoke and Cure and High Mowing Seeds. Fried believed food was the
foundation of a healthy economy and invested in socially responsible food businesses. Rian’s legacy lives on through the
innovative approaches to agriculture and
education fostered at Sterling College in
his memory.
It was our privilege to welcome Rian’s family in August – brothers, nephews, grandchildren, daughter, cousins, friends, and
more – and take a moment to recall his
many lasting contributions to Sterling.