NUS UK has called on universities to end their relationships with fossil fuel companies in support of the Fossil Free Careers campaign.
In a statement released yesterday, Tuesday April 26, the National Student Union (NUS) say it ‘wholeheartedly supports the work of People & Planet’s Fossil Free Careers campaign‘ which aims to stop university careers departments ‘actively promoting careers in the oil, gas, and mining industries’.
Fossil Free Careers
Campaigning under the banner of People & Planet’s Fossil Free Careers campaign, the organising students are calling upon University Careers Departments to do the following:
- Refuse all new relationships with oil, gas and mining companies.
- Decline to renew any current relationships with oil, gas and mining companies after the contractually obligated period ends.
- Adopt a publicly available Ethical Careers Policy that explicitly excludes oil, gas and mining companies from recruitment opportunities.
20% of university career departments already bar one or more of the tobacco industry, adult/sex industry, or gambling industry from advertising to students – now the campaign wants to add careers in fossil fuels to this list.
NUS shows support
In a statement the organisation said: ‘NUS wholeheartedly supports the work of People & Planet’s Fossil Free Careers campaign, and calls on all education institution careers services to end their relationships with oil, gas and mining companies. NUS encourages students and other members of educational institutions to get involved.
‘We believe that any campaign to decolonise education must target the material complicity of our institutions in colonial and climate violence, and we believe that any student campaign for climate justice must do the same.’
The statement went on to say NUS UK believes using boycotts and divestment a ‘non-violent strategy to pressure organisations into ending unethical practices’ as with their continued work on ‘decolonisation’ of education.
‘It is our responsibility to work collectively to end our institutions’ ongoing and multiple forms of complicity in violence. Fossil Free Careers demonstrates that the struggle goes beyond divestment, and we must continue the fight until all forms of life on this planet are safe,’ the statement continued.
The released finished by saying unis must ‘take urgent action’. It read: ‘Our educational institutions choose to work together with companies like Shell and BAE Systems to advertise roles on their behalf to students and graduates.
‘The activities of oil, gas, mining and arms companies are implicitly condoned, and their presence normalised to students when they are platformed at careers fairs and in job listings. Educational institutions must take urgent action to embed sustainability and ethics considerations in their careers service operations: it’s time for Fossil Free Careers.’
