Lots of universities hold investments in companies, known as shares. Anyone who invests in a company, has a say over how the company is run. ‍

We’re calling on universities to use their power as shareholders to actively engage - and vote - at company AGMs.

This year, campaigners are calling for Barclays and HSBC to stop funding fossil fuels at their AGMs. Since the Paris Agreement, Barclays and HSBC, two of Europe's biggest fossil fuel financiers, have funnelled over US $255 billion into to the coal, oil and gas sectors, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos report. See the Barclays and HSBC resolutions.

Call on your university to support the resolutions and take AGM action! 

Use this template email to join our email campaign, or visit our website for more information.

Every year, SOS-UK runs the Global Goals Teach In, where educators are encouraged to include the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs) in their teaching and learning, across all stages of education and all disciplines. Students can support the campaign by sharing your experiences of sustainability education, letting us know why you want to see more sustainability included in your teaching and learning, or encourage teaching staff at your institution to take part. Details on the 2022 campaign will be released soon, but you can email Rachel.Soper@sos-uk.org if you'd like to discuss the campaign before then!

Write to your elected reps here

Our current education on the climate emergency is not good enough. Students aren't being prepared to face the effects of climate change, or taught to understand the solutions for a crisis that will most impact our generation. But we can change this.

Sustainability and climate change need to be taught across the curriculum, equipping generations to come with the skills and knowledge needed for the green jobs of the future. A broad climate education will empower every young person to contribute to a more resilient, sustainable society.

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We want to hear about the experiences of students who've taken part in Erasmus in the last three years - tell us about your experiences by completing our survey!

It's open until 6th June 2021, and two lucky winners will receive 2 Interrail tickets that allow them to travel with a friend for 7 days in a month across 33 countries, worth 670 EUR!

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In January 2020, it was announced that over 50% of UK universities had divested from the fossil fuel industry. But universities still have over £15 billion of investments funding companies and practices that consistently act against the interests of students and the world they will graduate into.

The student movement may have succeeded in pushing universities to take their money out of the fossil fuel industry, but that alone is not enough. We need universities to use their investments, and their positions as investors, to lead the way towards a more resilient and sustainable economy.

We need universities to Invest for Change.

Start a campaign at your university now - using our student campaign guide and starter checklist.

Get in touch by emailing melaniekee@sos-uk.org for support!

We partner highly motivated students and recent graduates with forward thinking organisations to collaborate on research, placements and practical projects to progress economic, social and environmental sustainability. Start browsing the opportunities currently available at https://forgood.nus.org.uk/.

UK universities have over £15 billion that is frequently invested against the interests of students and the world they will graduate into. As part of our Invest for Change campaign, email your University's senior management to ensure their investments are funding environmental and social justice solutions and engaging with investments to change corporate practices.

Use our template to write your email, and see our resources for further support.

SOS-UK, alongside the National Union of Students (NUS), the University and College Union (UCU) and People & Planet (P&P) are calling for all UK universities and colleges to publicly commit to being net zero emissions for scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2030 to tackle the climate emergency and ecological crisis.

We know that in order to have any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees we need to commit to and start delivering these ambitious targets, and we've created an easy resource to see how your university or college is doing!

Check out your institutions target, and compare across the sector, at www.carbontargets.uk.

Our Invest for Change campaign supports students to call on their universities to reform investment practices to change the financial system. We can run introductory workshops, introducing the issues with the current financial system and how students can change this through an Invest for Change campaign on campus. We also offer more detail campaign planning sessions, to kickstart your campaigns! We tailor workshop each workshop to your group, so let us know what you need.

Head to our website to book a workshop via our form at the bottom of the homepage, or get in touch with melanie.kee@sos-uk.org.