Tag: sustainability

creativity

Digitally connecting everyone everywhere all at once: the Digital Doughnut Model

Christa Avampato
2024 United Nations Summit of the Future. Photo by Christa Avampato.

This weekend I attended the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future as part of the 2024 United Nations General Assembly programming and Climate Week NYC. The event had three key tracks: digital technology, peace, and sustainable development and finance for sustainable development. The programs, speaker bios, and session recordings are all publicly available to anyone who would like to view them at the links above. 

At the summit, I had the good fortune of sitting next to Neal McCarthy, Associate Director of Digital Programs at Oxfam America. I asked him what work he’s most excited about. He told me about the Digital Doughnut model, an excellent example of researchers and practitioners collaborating and building upon one another’s work to create a better world. The irony isn’t lost on me that my most valuable insight from a summit about digital technology came from sitting next to and talking to someone in-person. 

During my Masters in Sustainability Leadership at University of Cambridge / CISL, I studied Kate Raeworth’s Doughnut Economics, which she first developed while at Oxfam. Because I’ve worked in digital technology for over a decade, I was excited to hear from Neal how the Digital Doughnut combines sustainable development and digital technology. When I got home from the summit, I read about the model. Below I share an abbreviated explanation of its structure and insights. 

Digital Doughnut Model
Kate Raeworth developed the theory of Doughnut Economics. The outer ring of the doughnut consists of the ecological ceiling (maintain balance in the natural world that supports life). The inner ring of the doughnut consists of the social foundation (the minimum standards that we need to live a healthy life). The sweet spot, the doughnut itself, exists in the space between the rings where our societal needs are met, and nature’s boundaries are respected. 

Doughnut Economics model developed by Kate Raeworth

Developed by Hannah Smith and Alistair Alexander, the Digital Doughnut is an emerging idea, applying the Doughnut Economics model to the digital technology industry. The Digital Doughnut explores 3 key areas: 12 social foundations (based on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals), 9 ecological ceilings (planetary boundaries developed by the Stockholm Institute), and 7 ways to transform our thinking and imagination (also developed by Kate Raeworth).

In their 2022 pilot workshops, Hannah and Alistair worked with digital technology professionals to:

  • explore a broad definition of sustainability;
  • look deeper into the root causes of what is going wrong and how the digital technology industry has been culpable in eroding sustainability;
  • imagine a better future for the industry and actions that the digital technology industry can take to create that better future for all. 

The Doughnut Flower
The workshop discussions and insights led to the creation of The Digital Tech Industry Doughnut Flower. It shows which social foundations and ecological ceilings were most related to the digital tech industry. 

The diagram helps us see all social foundation dimensions were relevant to the attendees, especially income and work, networks, peace and justice, and social equity. Education, energy, gender equality, health and political voice were also prominent. Food, housing and water were discussed but not to the same degree as the others.

Of the ecological ceilings, not surprisingly, climate change was a very strong topic of discussion amongst the ecological boundaries. Air pollution and land conversion were the next dimensions to receive the most attention. Biodiversity loss, freshwater withdrawals and chemical pollution were discussed to some degree in most of the workshops. Ozone depletion, ocean acidification and nitrogen/phosphorus loading were barely discussed at all, and attendees generally did not see much or any connection between these boundaries and the impacts of digital tech.

The Doughnut Flower by Hannah Smith

Discussion themes
Three main themes were brought up in the workshops. These theme were woven throughout all of the discussions. 

  • Issues around gender/ethnicity, especially pay inequality and exclusion. differentials of pay, but also exclusion were major concerns of participants. These issues were clearly seen by many attendees as essential — and central — to any meaningful discussion on sustainability.
  • Work culture was a theme, with “toxic” tech culture referred to repeatedly, as well as exploitation and overlong work hours.
  • Quality of life issues, and in particular our unhealthy relationship to technology that drive addiction to tech and disinformation.

Solutions
The workshops then moved to discuss possible solutions. These solutions showcase four solutions of how the digital tech industry can mitigate its challenges and contribute to a more sustainable world. 

  • Stop the relentless consumption/depletion of resources — attention-based revenue is driving the wrong behaviors.
  • Pointless — and endless — growth is getting us nowhere — the exponential growth bubble needs to burst.
  • Build things that last and can be reused — the strategy of planned obsolescence only serves shareholders and not society.
  • Detoxify tech culture — replace with fairness, inclusion and better ways of working.

Open-source resources for all to use
Hannah and Alistair have generously shared an enormous amount of information on this idea and the resources for these pilot workshops on the website https://doingthedoughnut.tech/. They welcome anyone to use all of these resources to run a similar workshop. All they ask is that the materials be attributed to Doing the Doughnut Tech Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0.

What’s next
Reading through their website, I’m considering how the Doughnut Economics model could be applied to the strategy and operations of any organization in any industry that seeks to make sustainability its foundation. In my own work at Double or Nothing Media, I’m developing a proof of concept for a new company focused on rewilding and in the research phase of developing a food waste mitigation tech platform. How might you use the Doughnut in your work? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

creativity

Can clean electricity for everyone everywhere end poverty?

Christa Avampato
Photo by Kendall Ruth on Unsplash

700 million people have no electricity. 3.1 billion people don’t have enough. Could changing that change everything?

Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation and author of “Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens”, published a New York Times opinion essay this week that makes the case for clean electrification as THE driver to end poverty, reduce violence, and drastically improve well-being including health, nutrition, jobs, and education, not to mention how it would provide us with cleaner water, air, soil, and crops.

I appreciate the holistic nature of the 17 Strategic Development Goals (SDGs). I also agree with Shah that we have to rethink how we’re approaching them by solving the few (or perhaps the one, as Shah suggests) underlying challenge(s) common across all the SDGs. The bureaucracy and complexity of 17 sets of solutions to meet 17 goals is enough to make anyone’s head spin, and it could very well be slowing our progress toward achieving any of them by 2030. These 17 goals may define symptoms, with the underlying disease being lack of clean electricity. 

If Shah is right, and clean electrification is the root challenge of all these goals, how might that change financial investment and policy? How might our climate actions and climate storytelling shift if our one united goal was to provide every person with clean electricity by 2030? What would it take to get there?

creativity

How to get microplastics out of your body

Christa Avampato
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash

0.5% of human brain weight today is from microplastics, according to the latest scientific research. It’s also collecting in human lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow. It contributes to cardiovascular disease, infertility, memory loss, and learning impairment.

These are frightening statistics, and there we can do something about it TODAY to protect ourselves and our families. Many of the answers are in our kitchens. An article in the New York Times interviewed 3 medical doctors and a research scientist about how to reduce our exposure.

1.) Eliminate plastic bottled water (and I’d add eliminate paper to-go cups because they have a plastic lining, especially for hot coffee). Instead, use metal, silicone, or glass to store your water.

2.) Have effective water filtration at home. Brita’s elite filter is a good choice.

3.) Don’t cook with utensils such as plastic spatulas or plastic mixing spoons. Use silicone, wood, or metal.

4.) Don’t store any food or drinks in plastic (especially if they are acidic or warm). Even if they come in plastic from the grocery store, take them out of the plastic when you get home and store in glass, metal, or silicone. Never leave food or drink in plastic exposed to heat (such as in a car).

5.) Don’t reuse packaged food containers you may have like those from butter, yogurt, etc. to store food. Put those right into the recycling bin.

6.) Don’t microwave plastic, no matter what the packaging says is okay.

7.) Hand wash plastic rather than running it through the dishwasher, and use cold water to wash it, no matter what the packaging says is okay.

8.) Replace your plastic cutting boards with wood or bamboo cutting boards.

9.) I would also add don’t eat with plastic utensils, plastic bowls or plates, or paper plates that have a plastic coating on them.

10.) Filter your air at home and vacuum regularly to remove microplastics that enter our home from the air and that we track in from outside.

It’s unfortunate that completely eliminating exposure to microplastics in our modern world is nearly impossible until we have safe, alternative materials to fossil fuel-based plastic. What we can do is limit our exposure as much as possible with these tips.


creativity

Governor Tim Walz made Minnesota a climate action powerhouse

Christa Avampato
Image from Sierra Club

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has spent the better part of the last decade instituting climate policies that make economic sense and help all Minnesota residents live healthier, happier lives. Let’s dive into what he’s done in Minnesota and how this could help the entire country. 

1.) Minnesota is a clean energy leader

Like many states, Minnesota was long powered by coal. Today, 50% of the state’s power comes from wind, solar, and nuclear power, thanks to Walz. It’s one of the fastest transitioning states in the country. In 2023, he signed the Minnesota Clean Energy Bill into law, ensuring Minnesota is fossil fuel-free by 2040. (If you want to see how all U.S. states stack up with their energy sources, check out this cool interactive created by Nadja Popovich.) 

2.) Minnesota is a climate policy leader

On Walz’s watch in 2022, Minnesota launched the Climate Action Framework. This plan is preparing the state for climate change impacts, taking immediate and near-term actions to make the state “carbon-neutral, resilient, and equitable.” To-date, this plan has prompted the Minnesota Legislature to approve over 40 climate initiatives across industries including energy, health, agriculture, construction, and transportation. 

3.) Minnesota policies connect everyday local concerns with climate solutions 

Minnesotans have acutely felt the impacts of climate change over the past 5 years — drought caused economic losses for farmers and ranchers, wildfire smoke inundated cities and towns leading to health challenges, and a lack of snow and ice caused economic losses in the fishing and winter tourism industries. The state’s climate policies focus on climate solutions that create jobs, protect land and water vital for farmers and ranchers, reduce energy costs for consumers, and improve air quality to improve the health of residents, particularly children, the elderly, and those with existing health conditions. 

Walz’s simple, straightforward, optimistic, and solution-oriented communication style unites people, makes them feel hopeful, and connects the challenges they face with policy solutions that will directly solve those challenges. This makes him wildly popular with constituents across the political spectrum. People trust him because he’s helping them. This has helped turn Minnesota into a climate action powerhouse. Using his playbook, we could do this for the entire country. 

creativity

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund creates economic opportunity and protects the planet

Christa Avampato

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is a powerful climate finance policy in the U.S. that hasn’t gotten enough attention. It effectively leverages blended finance, creating an effective model for future policies. Here’s the deal:

With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Vice President Kamala Harris announced a $20 billion investment in climate and clean energy projects: three under the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and five under the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator. They will create a national clean financing network for clean energy and climate solutions across sectors, ensuring communities have access to the capital they need to participate in and benefit from a cleaner, more sustainable economy.

Together, the eight selected projects will deliver on the three objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: reducing climate and air pollution; delivering benefits to communities, especially low-income and disadvantaged communities; and mobilizing financing and private capital. As part of this collective effort, selected applicants have committed to the following:

Fund projects across sectors that will reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions

  • These projects fund net-zero buildings, zero-emissions transportation, distributed energy generation and storage, and the decarbonization of agriculture and heavy industry.

Reach communities in all 50 states, the 6 U.S. territories, and Tribal Lands, with a particular focus on low-income and disadvantaged communities

  • $14 billion funds low-income and disadvantaged communities that need it most, ensuring that program benefits flow to the communities most in need and advance the President’s Justice40 Initiative
  • Over $4 billion to rural and energy communities
  • Nearly $1.5 billion to Tribal communities

Mobilize private capital at an almost 7:1 ratio over the next seven years, with every dollar in grant funds leveraged for almost seven dollars in private funds

  • This is a significant point because a sustainable world requires private investment. This means $20 billion in U.S. government funding activates an additional $130 billion in private capital from banks, asset managers, and individual investors for a total of $150 billion. (This is known as “blended finance” — investments from different sources are combined to achieve a common goal.)

Fund community lenders and partners who are already working in communities across the country to deliver investments quickly

  • 1,000 community lenders are lending in low-income and disadvantaged communities, including Community Development Financial Institutions (including Community Development Loan Funds, Community Development Banks, Community Development Credit Unions, and Community Development Venture Capital Funds); low-income credit unions, and green banks.

Hundreds of thousands of good-paying, high-quality jobs, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities

  • Create hundreds of thousands of good-paying, high-quality jobs, supported by a number of local, regional, and national labor union jobs

Vice President Harris has spent her career standing up for people and the planet. She’s not resting on her laurels. She’s moving us forward toward a healthy, sustainable world for all. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is a cornerstone of a set of policies that create economic opportunities while protecting the planet we share.

creativity

Mine for metal with plants

Christa Avampato
Metalplant co-founders Laura Wasserson, Eric Matzner and Sahit Muja with the Albanian farming team.
Image: Metalplant

Plants like sunflowers are viable nature-based solutions that remove heavy metal from polluted soil through the scientific process of phytoremediation. The term is a combination of the Greek phyto (plant) and Latin remedium (restoring balance). Simply, brilliantly, and quickly, the plants take up the heavy metal in large quantities and store them in their fatty tissues. This causes no harm to the sunflowers, nor to the land. They also thrive in hot, dry climates. What a wonder for a world wracked by pollution and climate change impacts. 

Now imagine taking this incredible adaptation even further. What if we extracted the metals from the plants and use these metals in our technology so we didn’t need to mine for them? 

This is exactly the mission of Metalplant, a startup in Albania transforming some of the most degraded land in the world into a lucrative venture. This idea of phytoremediation isn’t new. Many have tried. Metalplant added another step to their process. While mining with plants (a process they call phytomining), they also remove CO2 from the atmosphere by spreading large volumes of rock dust on their farms. That rock pulls carbon out of the air. This process is known as enhanced rock weathering.

I worried about the impact of the rock dust on the soil and the life within that soil. Thankfully, enhanced rock weathering is a regenerative practice, using mycorrhiza and other fungi fostered by the roots of the plants absorbing the metal from the soil. 

Curious and want to learn more? Metalplant would love to hear from you. Get in touch with them at https://metalplant.com/contact/.

creativity

I submitted my dissertation to the University of Cambridge

Christa Avampato

It is written. It is submitted. In the wee hours of Monday morning, I submitted my dissertation to the University of Cambridge. I’m proud of it. Every cell in my body is passionate about the topic and I think it can help to make this world a better place.

There are many people who helped make this dissertation what it is. The anonymous marking criteria precluded me from thanking them by name in the acknowledgements of the dissertation so I’ll thank them here.

My advisor Dr Candice Howarth provided support and encouragement from the start. 

Louise Drake was enthusiastic about my topic from the point I submitted my proposal and provided early materials that helped me on my journey. 

My first year tutor Angus Morrison-saunders sharpened my writing and research skills to make the writing of this research project possible. 

The staff at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) always warmly welcomed us in Cambridge, answered our many questions with kindness and grace, and created the space to make this phenomenal experience possible. There is so much work that happens behind the scenes and the staff is to be commended for all they do. 

My friends and classmates Milly Moore, Alasdair Martin, Patricia Minogue, Aaron Hemsley, Mark Champkins, Barbora Kotoun, Laura Hillis, Mitch Reznick, CFA, Iuliia Takhtarova, and Aonghus Kelly read my work at various points (some more than once, you kind souls!) and provided feedback that made the work much better than it would have been otherwise. 

My close community of friends and relatives cheered me on throughout this two-year adventure and provided support for my studies in so many ways. 

Many people graciously and generously gave their time so I could interview them for this dissertation. Your insights and perspectives made this research possible. Thank you for your honesty, candor, and enthusiasm for the work. 

I love being a part of Cohort 13 and I’m inspired every day by all my wonderful classmates and friends. You taught me so much, not only about sustainability but also about life. I’m a better person for knowing you. Thank you for everything. 

While we all now wait for our grades and the confirmation of our graduation celebration in 2025, I’m filled with gratitude and love for two fantastic years. Onward now to save the planet.

creativity

Doom and gloom climate stories harm the climate movement

Christa Avampato
Photo by Steven Weeks on Unsplash

Before you share one more post on social media about climate doom and gloom, please take a deep breath. And then, please post something else. Anything else.

The goal of sharing climate change stories is to drive actions that will halt and reverse climate change to protect the planet and human well-being. While doom and gloom stories such as alarming statistics (of which there are many, sadly!) drive more sharing, clicks, comments, and engagement on social media than any other type of climate story, the largest research study on the topic recently found they drive the least amount of climate action and do almost nothing to change climate change beliefs or support climate change policies. They actually backfire, even causing people concerned about climate change to take significantly less action than they otherwise would.

How could this be? Doesn’t instilling fear for the survival of our species cause so much alarm that of course we’d change our ways? That is a logical, rational assumption. For many years, this was the prevailing wisdom. If you just show people how much damage climate change can do, they’ll change their behaviors and habits to protect themselves and the people they love. This is why we see country leaders, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, leaders at environment nonprofits, and climate activists all over the world sounding the alarm. This is also why so many of us have posted about the climate emergency so often. It’s also why we aren’t seeing enough action taken at a fast enough rate. These stories depressed and demotivated people right into paralysis.

But if that’s the case, then why is there so engagement on climate stories? The clicks, likes, shares, and comments are through the roof. If there’s so much engagement, why is there not enough action? Being engaged on social media or with mass media isn’t the same as taking action in the real world. These stories have absolutely raised the consciousness around climate change, but they haven’t successfully moved people to physically do something about it. Fear-based messaging is somewhat effective at driving one-time actions. However, most climate action requires behavior, habit, and systems change, not one-time actions so the fear-based climate messages don’t give us the long-term and repeated actions we need.

So, what messages can we share that will drive climate action? That is an excellent question. Research points us to a few options that motivate climate action:

  1. Scientific consensus coupled with a clear call-to-action
    Sharing the science of climate change, and that the vast majority of scientists agree on it, is critical. However, just providing the science isn’t enough. We also need to give people specific, actions to take. And all the better if we can give them a mix of one-time actions (such as voting) and remind them to take habitual actions (such as buying only the amount of goods we need to reduce waste). And we have to make them as simple as possible to get broad-based engagement.
  2. Appeal to ethics and morality with a clear call-to-action
    Most people like to see themselves as having strong ethics and values. We want to protect our neighbors. We want to take care of our communities. We want to be healthy and happy, and we want people we love to be healthy and happy, too. Taking care of the planet is a way to take care of ourselves and others, and appealing to our collective nurturing nature makes a difference. And again, give people a clear call-to-action to help them do this.

There are other theories about what may work that need further study. There is a hole in the research about which messages will move people from engagement to action. We desperately need more research on this, so we tell the stories that motivate the actions we need to protect ourselves and all species with whom we share this planet. My master’s dissertation has a few additional findings that I’m excited to share soon, and I’m thinking of continuing this line of research and work because it’s so critical to protecting the health of the planet.

creativity

What the Pope got wrong about climate change

Christa Avampato
Photo by Imat Bagja Gumilar on Unsplash

Last month, a study on conservation actions, including protected areas and management, showed they effectively halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and reducing climate change impacts. Over the weekend, CBS aired an interview with Pope Francis, the first he’s granted to a major U.S. television network. About climate change he told Norah O’Donnell, “Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point of no return.” What’s unfortunate is Norah O’Donnell didn’t explain the science that this is not true. We are not at a point of no return with climate change. We need to do more and faster, and there is hope.

I understand it’s probably intimidating to challenge the Pope during an interview on national television. However, what he says is taken as truth by millions of people. If he pointed to the many success cases we have, this would inspire the increase in climate action we need. People need to know they can and do have the opportunity right now to make a difference. We have to spread this message far and wide because time is running out. This next decade could turn the tide one way or the other, and we have the chance to be part of the solution.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It’s documented that 44,000 species are at risk of extinction. If these extinctions happen, ecosystems will collapse and billions of people will struggle to have enough food, clean water, livelihoods such as fishing, homes, and cultural preservation, to name just a few of the severe impacts.

Re:wild is an incredible resource filled with hope and success stories backed by science. One of their recent article hit home for me because of my passion for nature-based solutions and rewilding: We don’t need to reinvent the planet; we need to rewild it.

The world’s forests store approximately 861 gigatonnes of carbon, equivalent to nearly a century’s worth of current annual fossil fuel emissions. Tropical rainforests store 50 percent of that. These forests are not just the trees – they’re a whole ecosystem including the fungi, soil, insects, and predators. “When there are pieces of that biodiversity missing, the carbon cycle is incomplete or much less efficient than it would be otherwise,” said Christopher Jordan, Re:wild Latin America director. Storing carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere needs all parts of the forest. It needs biodiversity. The wild, not human-invented technology, is the most effective solution to the interconnected climate, biodiversity, and human well-being crises. 

This is what I wish the Pope had said about climate change because it’s true: There is hope. We have the solutions. Now, we need the will and humility to listen to nature and let her lead for our own sake and hers. We are all interconnected. We need each other.

creativity

A divestment case study: How the University of Cambridge divested from fossil fuels

Christa Avampato
University of Cambridge. Photo by Tim Alex on Unsplash

Driven by the university student protests across the country, divestment is a top topic in U.S. media today. I’m currently getting my Masters in Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge. At our December 2023 workshop, I learned about the complexities of the university’s divestment from fossil fuel companies. 

I was fortunate to have a small seminar class with the lead researcher on this effort, Dr. Ellen Quigley, who is a brilliant, passionate, and seasoned researcher. We dove deep into the research, which is hundreds of pages long and took years of concentrated, concerted effort to conduct and use to drive change. There were years of negotiation throughout the university that ultimately led to a university vote in accordance with governance parameters.

I was particularly interested in this topic at my December workshop at Cambridge because in late 2022 at the start of my group project for my program, I tried to completely divest my personal retirement funds from fossil fuels. I had a clear goal of divestment from fossil fuels, and only a few funds at two financial institutions (one from my current job and another for my roll-over accounts from retirement funding I earned at previous jobs). I planned to talk to someone at the financial institutions, make a few changes to my investments, and have my portfolio free from fossil fuels. 

Divesting my own small retirement fund from fossil fuels was anything but simple. 18 months, many phone calls, emails, and hours of research later, and I still have some investments in fossil fuel companies despite all my efforts and time. It’s fewer than I had when I started this process, which is progress, but it’s not the perfect change I hoped for. My personal work to divest from fossil fuels in ongoing.

While the divestment process is complex, I wanted to use this post to provide a few insights from the efforts at Cambridge along with links to those who want to dive deeper into this topic and case study. This case study helped me learn more about the divestment process and informs me about how it could be utilized by university administrators, faculty, students, and alumni who want to be actively engaged in the management of a university’s endowment, overall financials, and operations. Of course, this is just one case study at one university and other divestment processes at other universities may differ in their journey and the results.  

A clear goal
A clear goal focuses efforts and time. In the case of my retirement funds, I wanted to divest from fossil fuels. For the University of Cambridge, their goal was more nuanced than mine because of the size, complexity, signaling, varied stakeholder community, and potential consequences (intentional and unintentional) of their divestment. To make a decision, Cambridge needed to consider whether it could divest from fossil fuels without incurring significant costs and/or if it must do so in order to retain supporters and beneficiaries.

Activism takes many forms
A single goal can have many different tactics, and different players can share the same goal and adopt different tactics. Cambridge’s constituencies were united around the science that proves fossil fuels are driving climate change. The decision process for the university as a whole was about which specific actions to take — divesting, government action, and many other stakeholder engagement options. 

The form(s) of activism best suited for any individual or organization has many considerations. Examples include organized protests, public letters and other media outreach, contact with elected and appointed officials and policy makers, local actions in a specific community (caring for a natural area through rewilding, replanting, regenerating, clean-ups, etc.), buying goods and services from companies that align with our values, running for elected or appointed office, having conversations with people in our community about our personal experiences, and starting, working, and volunteering for companies, organizations, and partners that align with our values. This is only a small list of possible actions. 

One thing I’ve learned in this process is one form of activism is not better, nor more valid, than another. How, when, and why people engage in activism is impacted by many circumstances — our resources of time and money, where we feel we can best contribute and make an impact, personal and professional commitments, and our mental and physical health to name just a few. 

Trade-offs, negotiations, and incremental progress
Another consideration in all divestment conversations is the topic of trade-offs and negotiations because it is rare (though perhaps not impossible) to find a perfect solution or action to a challenge we want to solve. As an individual, I only have to consider my own trade-offs. A university like Cambridge has many stakeholders to consider so their trade-offs and negotiations are much more complicated than mine as an individual.

A transition process is part of Cambridge’s plan to divest from fossil fuels. The University has committed to divestment from fossil fuels by 2030 and to achieving net zero by 2038. That net zero commitment is nearly 19 years after the discussions about fossil fuel divestment began in 2019. 

Divestment with a clear goal, an agreement on specific tactics and actions, an understanding of trade-offs, negotiations, and incremental progress is a journey. It takes continuous efforts by many people over a long period of time. Lasting change is a collective, collaborative process of coalitions. 

Here are the links I refer to in this post for easy access. I hope they’re helpful for anyone interested in learning more about divestment:

1.) Grace on Fossil Fuel Industry Ties: A report into the impacts of implementing the Grace on fossil fuel industry ties on Cambridge University’s mission (July 2023)
https://www.cam.ac.uk/notices/grace-on-fossil-fuel-industry-ties

2.) To Divest or to Engage? A Case Study of Investor Responses to Climate Activism (2020) 
https://www.pm-research.com/content/iijinvest/29/2/10

3.) Divestment: Advantages and Disadvantages for the University of Cambridge (2020)
https://www.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/sm6_divestment_report.pdf

4.) Cambridge to Divest from Fossil Fuels with net zero plan(2020)
https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels-with-net-zero-plan