Harvard-Yale Halftime Invasion Is a Teaching Moment for ESG
Even passive investment strategies can get active on issues like climate change, but they need a push to do so.
Students disrupted The Game. Are investors ready to do the same?
Photographer: Boston Globe via Getty Images
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If you want to see the future of climate-based investing, you need to look at Harvard and Yale. For those tired of debates dominated by elite universities, note that I am not talking about what goes on inside those hallowed halls. I am referring to last weekend’s football contest between the two Ivies, known as “The Game.” This edition of the ancient rivalry was certainly exciting (Yale came from behind to win 50-43 in double-overtime), but all attention was stolen by events at halftime. Students from the two universities’ campaigns to divest from fossil fuels (Yale Endowment Justice Coalition and Divest Harvard), staged a joint invasion of the field. Both want their endowments (the two largest university nest eggs on the planet) to get rid of all exposure to oil, coal and gas. They also called for divesting from holdings in Puerto Rican debt.