Divestment is not something on the average college student’s radar, let alone a part of their extracurricular activities. The Climate Reality Project at NC State is looking to change that. Starting in fall 2018, the Climate Reality Project at NC State has pushed for more sustainable practices at the university. In addition to divestment, they’ve also held campaigns to offset NC State’s carbon emissions and to build more energy efficient buildings on campus.

The organization celebrated Global Divestment Day on Feb. 13 with a meeting to continue their effort to educate students about what divestment is and how it is taking place at NC State.

Currently, NC State’s endowment stands at approximately $1.4 billion dollars, most of which is invested through the UNC Management Company, a nonprofit organization that provides investment management services to the University of North Carolina system. They currently manage about 85% of NC State’s investment fund but don’t have the same reporting requirements of public universities. However, it is known that 43 million dollars of NC State’s endowment is invested in industries related to fossil fuels.

Emily Trentham, a third-year studying environmental science and president of the Climate Reality Project, said NC State needs to divest from non-renewable energy.

“[NC State] is supposed to serve the people of North Carolina,” she said. “By supporting companies that are dumping coal ash in our fresh water … trying to build pipelines through some of the most vulnerable communities in North Carolina, supporting them is not doing a service to North Carolina.”

Some colleges and universities have laid a path for schools looking to divest from non-renewable energy. The University of California system made headlines in September 2019 when they announced that they were completely divesting their $80 billion endowment and pension funds from non-renewable energy.

 “I believe NC State should be held to a higher standard,” Trentham said. “We’re an innovative university.”

Other colleges and universities, like the University of California, have shown that major institutions can divest without seeing major effects in the growth of their investments. In fact, the University of California system specifically divested for a financial reason, rather than an environmental reason.

The Climate Reality Project’s head of research, Robert Van Der Drift, a third-year studying meteorology and applied math, said they’re always trying to grow as a club. Club members looking to get more involved always have a place to do so, as they have room for a large leadership team.

Students looking to get involved with the Climate Reality Project are encouraged to go to the club’s Instagram page, @climaterealityncsu.