Difficult To Divest

On February 2, 2024, the 143rd Board of the Lawrence published the Editorial “Sustainable Living, Beyond the Council,” advocating for students to actively incorporate sustainability into their day-to-day lives, instead of concentrating all efforts into one month. “If Lawrenceville incorporated sustainability into our lives,” read the Editorial, “the impact we could make would benefit the world.” This statement rings true: Lawrentians could, as the Board suggested, ban single-use plastic at feeds or incentivize reusable utensils at the Bathhouse by offering discounts. We could go even further, banning single-use plastics altogether or mandating students to generate their own electricity by riding on a power bike daily. Ultimately, no matter how much sustainable action we take, even if we abandon all technology in favor of homesteading—Lawrentians’ carbon offsets would be counteracted by the Lawrenceville Endowment’s investment in fossil fuels.

The School is composed of two parts: the community and the institution, and both must work in parallel to enact any change “that would benefit the world.” To its credit, the School has worked hard to make our community more sustainable: with a dedicated Office of Environmental Sustainability overseeing recycling programs, the construction of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) buildings and a solar array, Lawrenceville pledges to “reduce [our] dependence on fossil fuels.” Ironically, despite the School’s Leopold Scholars program and partnerships with ecological institutes, the Lawrenceville Endowment does not hold the same resolve.

The Lawrenceville Endowment maintains holdings in fossil fuels, indirectly empowering the industry and allowing it to further increase its tolls on the environment. According to The Carbon Major Report, since 1988, almost 25 fossil fuel companies have accounted for 51 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. So as long as the Endowment invests in the fossil fuel industry, the Lawrenceville community toils in vain to decrease emissions. The Lawrenceville Endowment must divest from fossil fuels to stop being complicit in environmental degradation and act accordingly to its stated ethos. 

Divestment is always a difficult, long-term effort, so the School should begin planning a reasonable timeline immediately. Harvard, Yale, and Cornell, among others, have not only ceased increasing their investment in fossil fuels but also established a plan for complete divestment. Rutgers University has done the same, committing to completely divesting its $1.6 billion endowment from privately held fossil fuel investments within 10 years. In possession of its own  significant endowment of more than $600 million, Lawrenceville is responsible for divesting from a cause that exacerbates climate change and redirect its money to projects which  protect the world. The School would not be alone in its decision; over 25 schools, including Andover and Exeter, have begun their own paths towards divestment. If it wants to remain a leader among peer institutions, it is necessary, not optional for Lawrenceville to divest: the School should teach by example the importance of taking action against climate change to its students. 

We students have worked tirelessly searching for ways to make Lawrenceville more sustainable. It is now up to the alumni and managerial board of the School to create a sustainable Lawrenceville we can be proud to call our alma mater.