Lucy Cavendish’s Governing Body unanimously voted for the College to divest from its direct holdings in fossil fuel companies on October 7th.

The College will direct its divested investments towards ‘green funds’ or green technology companies.

The divestment decision follows eighteen months of spotlight by the College on the issue of divestment, including “a focused session on the issue of fossil fuel divestment” to which “students were invited to present their views”, a speaker workshop and regular discussions between the Governing Body and the College’s Investment and Finance Committee on the practicalities of divestment.

The College will over the next year “explore how best to continue to address environmental sustainability in all its investment”, their website details.

In parallel to the College’s plans for divestment, Lucy Cavendish has already decided that its new building, which is planned to open in 2022, “should be constructed to Passivhaus [a company which sets sustainability standards] zero-carbon standard”.

Meanwhile, Lucy Cavendish, as part of its “re-formulated mission”, is placing greater emphasis on Masters, Research Fellows and Postdoctoral students demonstrating “engagement in interdisciplinary research that addresses one or more of the complex, important issues facing humankind.”

Lucy Cavendish is joining nine colleges - Newnham, Robinson, St John’s, Fitzwilliam Peterhouse,Emmanuel, Jesus, Downing and Selwyn - who are partially divested while only three Cambridge colleges - Christs, Queens and Clare Hall - are either fully divested or planning to fully divest.

The College’s decision follows the announcement in the Vice-Chancellor’s annual address on October 1st that the University plans to fully divest from fossil fuels by 2030.

Extinction Rebellion Youth Cambridge (XRYC), who helped to lead a campaign this summer urging colleges to divest, told Varsity that they are "delighted to hear that Lucy Cavendish College is withdrawing all direct investments from fossil fuels, and taking steps to make its estate more environmentally sustainable."

XRYC stressed that the College's decision "is a testament to the work of campaigners, particularly Cambridge Zero Carbon Society, over the last 5 years - as well as XR Cambridge's campaign of non-violent direct action this Summer."

However, XRYC also stressed that they want to "hear more about Lucy Cavendish's plans for removing its indirect investments from fossil fuels."

Similarly, while welcoming the College's decision, Cambridge Zero-Carbon, the student climate activist group at the forefront of the divestment campaign, told Varsity that "partial divestment is not enough - Lucy Cavendish and all other colleges must now commit to full divestment and cut all other links with the fossil fuel industry."

Cambridge Zero-Carbon continued: "it is now unacceptable for educational institutions to profit from the destruction of our planet. No more can Cambridge University and its Colleges profit from investing in the companies who have decimated frontline communities, bankrolled misleading climate science, lobbied against environmental regulations, while continuing to explore for oil even as the planet burns. "