Despite the fact that the University of Cambridge committed to divest from the fossil fuel industry in 2020, its broader relationship with the industry remains untarnished. Cambridge has kept strong links with oil, gas, and mining companies through funding schemes and joint research ventures and it continues to funnel a pipeline of graduate talent into these industries. Its contradictory position undermines the impact of the divestment decision, enabling socially and environmentally harmful practices around the world. It is also against the interests of its students.

In September 2020, the University of Cambridge announced that it aims to divest its £3.5bn endowment fund from fossil fuels by 2030 as part of a strategy for its investment portfolio to reach net-zero by 2038. This decision, albeit long overdue, was a hugely important one. Divestment has affected the fossil fuel industry not only by reducing its access to capital but also by restricting its “social licence”, stigmatising its harmful social and environmental practices. Ever since its decision to divest, Cambridge has received praise for its commitment to environmental sustainability. More than a year on, however, the University’s continued links to the fossil fuel industry undermine this landmark decision.

In its 2019 report, “Dismantling the Fossil Fuel University”, Cambridge Climate Justice (formerly known as Cambridge Zero Carbon) showed that the University’s relationship to the fossil fuel industry reaches far beyond investments. A continued flow of cash in the form of research funding, grants, scholarships and donations is used to fund the University’s diverse activities. An Open Democracy report recently found that Cambridge has accepted nearly £15 million from oil companies since 2017, making it the second-highest recipient of funds from oil firms among UK universities.

“Cambridge has accepted nearly £15 million from oil companies since 2017, making it the second-highest recipient of funds from oil firms among UK universities”

In return, the University sends some of its best graduates to work in the industry. By inviting oil, gas and mining companies to careers fairs, advertising their vacancies through its websites, and promoting them in emails to the student body, the University’s Careers Service helps sustain a steady flow of the graduates, whom these companies rely on to operate. Shell is among the corporations which have received a platform from the University and have been able to recruit directly on its campus. It has recently lost a historic lawsuit for damaging the climate and has been accused of repeated human rights violations. By providing a platform to companies such as Shell, Cambridge University and its Careers Service are complicit in enabling such harmful practices.

The Fossil Free Careers campaign—led by Cambridge Climate Justice, who has joined a national campaign coordinated by People & Planet—will seek to disrupt this link between extractivist industries and the University’s Careers Service. As the number of graduates going into oil and gas has fallen by 61% between 2016 and 2019—and as the industry’s practices become increasingly stigmatised—recruitment has become one of Big Oil’s largest problems. Leading companies will therefore increasingly rely on academic institutions and their career bodies to advertise them to students, thereby safeguarding their reputation and an inflow of graduate talent. By challenging this practice at one of the world’s most prestigious universities, students at Cambridge have the power to deliver a material blow to the companies engaged in extractivist practices.

“It is irresponsible for the University to feed students into unsustainable jobs in decaying industries, which are socially and environmentally harmful”

The Cambridge Careers Service is not a neutral actor, nor does it simply reflect the career aspirations of students at the University. It makes key decisions on which companies to represent, which may have considerable sway over students undecided about their career paths. The Careers Service has previously made choices to exclude certain lines of work—e.g., the sex work and tobacco industries—justifying this approach on the grounds that inviting such employers might “bring reputational damage to the University of Cambridge.” Notably, “reputational damage” was also a key consideration in the University’s divestment decision. To remain consistent, the University should stop platforming companies involved in fossil fuel and mineral extraction through its Career Service.

The current situation is not in the interest of students either. There is a growing demand for sustainable jobs, which are perceived as more secure and have the potential to deliver a positive impact. The Cambridge Careers Service is currently out of step with this demand. It is irresponsible for the University to feed students into unsustainable jobs in decaying industries, which are socially and environmentally harmful. De-platforming extractive industries is therefore in the collective interest of the student body.

As a key element of the relationship between higher education institutions and extractivist corporations, university careers programmes must be a primary focus for students demanding climate justice. This is why—as outlined in a recent open letter addressed to the University Council and the Careers Service—I and other students supporting the Fossil Free Careers campaign have called for the University to refuse all new relationships with oil, gas and mining companies and to reject the renewal of any current relationships with such companies after contractual obligations have ceased. Students across the University need an easily accessible Ethical Careers Policy that explicitly excludes oil, coal and gas companies from recruitment practices.