We Demand that TIAA stop financing climate destruction!
TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association) offers educators, arts workers, scholars and others financial security at retirement. But they do it through investing in companies fueling environmental destruction.
In a time where fossil fuel investments are rapidly becoming stranded assets, and renewable energy solutions are recognized as our energy future, this is unacceptable. It’s up to us to demand that TIAA divest from fossil fuels and implement a no deforestation investment policy.
Breaking: Newly Published Report, TIAA Fails Clients On Climate
November 16, 2022 — In a report just released, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) financial analyst Tom Sanzillo rakes TIAA for having its portfolio “awash in fossil fuels,” and charges TIAA with a major lapse in its fiduciary obligations for failing to consider fossil fuel divestment. Sanzillo asserts, “TIAA has a tremendous opportunity to lead with its climate action plan by promptly evaluating how to achieve its financial targets with a fossil-free portfolio.“
The report finds that:
- IEEFA conservatively estimates that TIAA’s enterprise-wide portfolio of $1.4 trillion contains $78 billion in fossil fuel risks.
- TIAA’s public corporate bond portfolio is heavily weighted with fossil fuels.
- TIAA’s private equity investments, currently called “other investments” and ranked a “low priority” for climate action, should be a much higher priority.
- TIAA’s failure to consider divestment as a mechanism to protect its portfolio is a striking lapse in its fiduciary obligations.
TIAA Participants File Complaint with Principles for Responsible Investment
On October 19, 2022, nearly 300 TIAA account holders with help from TIAA-Divest! and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) filed a complaint against the financial services giant and its wholly-owned subsidiary Nuveen at the United Nations-sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The complaint alleges that TIAA’s substantial investments in fossil fuels and deforestation violate the company’s climate pledges and commitment to the PRI Principles and therefore constitute a serious violation of the integrity of the PRI initiative. Read details here.
TIAA-Divest! is committed to stopping retirement giant TIAA (Teacher Insurance Annuity Association) from financing climate destruction.
TIAA manages $1.3 trillion in assets and is one of the largest owners of farmland and timberland on the planet. Its clients are mostly universities and non-profits, and it brands itself as a socially responsible company. But TIAA actually owns at least $78 billion in oil, coal and methane assets. It also manages substantial investments in large-scale, high-emission agriculture and timber plantations, which have been especially damaging to Black farmers, communities of color and Indigenous Peoples.
Campus Resolutions Calling On TIAA to Divest from Climate Destruction
TIAA-Divest works to empower educators, staff and students to organize and demand that TIAA stop financing fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure, deforestation and land grabs.
The following institutions have passed resolutions demanding that retirement savings not be used to finance these unethical and irresponsible activities:
TIAA-financed fracked gas power plant opens in New York
TIAA’s devastating impact on climate
Resolutions Demanding TIAA Divestment To Date:
Take Action
- Sign our Divest petition to TIAA’s CEO
- If you’d like to work with us on our campaign to stop TIAA’s climate destruction, Sign up!
- Amplify our message! Link to this page and let the social media world know about TIAA’s deceptive practices.
Special Section for Educators, Researchers and Staff.
If you have questions, or would like to join our effort, get in touch