UCU motion backs 'Fossil Free Careers' campaign

At the Academic-Related Professional Services Staff (ARPS) National Annual Meeting in 2022, we unanimously passed a motion backing People & Planet's Fossil Free Careers campaign. This motion was then carried at Congress. We agreed to actively work with People and Planet to support the student-led Fossil Free Careers campaign, produce this web statement and support and promote the activities of the Green New Deal

The student-led Fossil Free Careers campaign calls on careers services to align their operations with sustainability considerations, asking them to decline to promote oil, gas and mining companies to students and graduates.

As of January 2023, four careers services have put in place such an exclusion. These are Birkbeck University of London, Wrexham Glyndwr University, the University of Bedfordshire, and the University of the Arts London.

UCU members have been actively organising alongside student campaigners across the UK. We have passed motions in support of local campaigns at the Universities of Edinburgh, Durham, Sheffield, and Swansea, and staff have been supporting student campaigners on over 30 university campuses.

When students and staff organise together, we can be a powerful fighting force. Every UCU member has a vital role to play in the struggle for climate justice - get in touch here if you want to get involved.

A template branch motion in support of the Fossil Free Careers campaign can be found here.

ARPS committee