The Martlet

The UVic administration loves to toot its own horn over its environmental consciousness.

For example, in the visitors’ section on the UVic website, it claims our university “offers outstanding social, cultural, artistic, environmental and athletic opportunities.” And the Sustainability section tells us that “The University of Victoria has both a role and a responsibility to respond and take action [in regards to the environment].”

But the most telling portion of UVic’s policy is where the sustainability section speaks of the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental consequences.

It’s no accident the website lists “economic” concerns first. According to the investment policies of UVic Foundations, a charitable foundation that handles UVic’s $150 million endowment, our university is throwing its money in some pretty hypocritical directions.

Like investing millions in the Alberta Tar Sands, or hundreds of thousands in cigarette-maker Philip Morris International.

Think about it. This university builds new buildings, and flaunts how “green” it is, then invests millions in some of the world’s most destructive industries. This university bans selling cigarettes on campus, and promotes activities like the “Campus Smoke Out,” then hurtles money at Big Tobacco.

Apparently, the official policy is “do as I say, not as I do.”

If not the tar sands and cigarettes, exactly when does UVic’s “responsibility to respond and take action” come into play — when there is no money to be made? When the PR gets UVic some free advertising? When it becomes visible to the student body?

So we want to know, why doesn’t the foundation, the board responsible for deciding where to invest its endowment, “apply an ethical screen” to its investing? This seems like common sense. It’s overwhelmingly clear that the majority of the student body is concerned with climate change. Sure, we have compost stations set up around the campus, but that doesn’t counter the amount of fresh water usage and pollution created in the pursuit of tar sands profit.

And what of UVic’s carbon neutral goals? Presumably, that won’t include carbon created through investments. Take this statement from UVic’s Carbon Neutral Action Report: “We recognize that sustainability is a commitment to future generations and requires the collective action of our entire community through long term planning, shared learning, grassroots activities and institutional leadership.”

Yeah, they’re leading all right. Leading all the way to the bank.

As for those “future generations,” if they happen to live down stream from the tar sands, they can learn to plan for life with cancer. But hey, there’s no reason not to smoke cigarettes if your water and air are already giving you a terminal illness, right? At least it’s more money in the coffers of the UVic Foundation — we want an institution that can afford to educate, after all.

So next time you’re in your Environmental Studies class, or reading a UVic press release patting the administration on the pack for going green, just remember that the tar sands and cigarettes are bad — if you aren’t making any money off of them.