People & Planet, the UK’s largest student network campaigning on social and climate justice, are keen to work alongside UCU ARPS members on a new nation-wide campaign: Fossil Free Careers.
The campaign seeks to embed sustainability in the operations of UK university careers services in a meaningful way that aligns with the demands of indigenous and frontline communities impacted by resource extraction and climate impacts.
In order to do this, students in the People & Planet network are campaigning to get careers services to adopt an ‘Ethical Careers Policy’ which explicitly excludes oil, gas and mining companies from recruiting students on UK campuses via careers services.
There is a precedent for this kind of industry-wide exclusion, with 20% of UK universities excluding one or more of tobacco/sex/gambling industries from student recruitment opportunities.
Whilst ‘green careers’ fairs are becoming increasingly popular, it is imperative that the industries most responsible for environmental destruction and driving the climate crisis cease to be actively assisted by careers services in recruiting the future workforces that make their damaging operations possible.
This Fossil Free Careers campaign seeks to build upon the successes of the student divestment movement, which has seen 92 UK universities announce commitments to remove fossil fuel investments from their portfolios.
Staff at People & Planet are keen to speak to any and all UCU members in UK universities. In particular, the insight of members working in careers and employability services is welcome.
More information on the campaign, including a draft union branch motion which UCU members are encouraged to pass, can be found at peopleandplanet.org/fossil-free-careers
All interested members are encouraged to get in touch at fossilfreecareers@peopleandplanet.org
People & Planet would like to extend our solidarity to all striking workers in upcoming industrial actions. We are behind you all the way: staff working conditions are student learning conditions. Worker justice is climate justice.
J Clarke, Co-Director: Climate Campaigns, People & Planet