Thank you for attending the first volunteer webinar of 2023! TIAA-Divest! is a grassroots campaign full of many accomplished and amazing organizers, educators, staff, students, and institutions! We work to support educators, staff, or students to organize and demand that TIAA stop financing fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure, deforestation, and land grabs.  TIAA manages $1.3 trillion in assets and is one of the largest owners of farmland and timberland on the planet, you can read more at https://tiaa-divest.org/! 

Let’s win together, 

The TIAA-Divest! Team 

TIAA-Divest! FAQ 

What is TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association)? 

TIAA is the largest US Pension Fund with $1.4 Billion AUM used by 15,000 institutions and more than 5 million individuals. TIAA is a signatory to more than 10 international organizations committed to responsible investing in alignment with IPCC Guidelines.

Who is TIAA-Divest? 

TIAA-Divest! was created in 2020, by a group of people who had fought against the building of the Cricket Valley fracked gas power plant in Dover Plains, NY. The plant was largely financed by TIAA. 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. On October 19, 2022, 300 TIAA Participants Filed a Complaint with Principles for Responsible Investment! There are now almost 700 signatories and the complaint argues that TIAA’s refusal to consider fossil fuel divestment violates its fiduciary duty because burning fossil fuels ignores the interests of its clients and harms their long-term financial well-being.

What has TIAA-Divest! Accomplished so far? 

TIAA-Divest! has partnered with allies like ActionAid, Friends of the Earth, and the Stop Land Grabs Coalition to host events across the country, outside TIAA’s NYC Offices, and at various institutions to pressure TIAA to divest. We have a petition that has been signed by over 22,000 individuals and have supported and organized multiple social media and bird-dogging events! We now have almost 700 signatories on our PRI Complaint! The signatories include leading American intellectuals, across a wide range of disciplines, including educators, philosophers, writers, scientists, and many more disciplines, including Bill McKibben.

How is TIAA Greenwashing? 

TIAA has $89 Billion in fossil fuels and is the third largest investor in coal bonds in the world. In response, TIAA has published its definitive climate statement in its 2020 “Facing the climate crisis” report. In that report, TIAA has committed to achieving “Net Zero emissions by 2050,” not Zero. This document is a classic example of greenwashing. TIAA has provided no details regarding how it will bring its various business units to ‘Net Zero’ and continues to invest in companies that do not follow TIAA’s own climate commitments. TIAA also hasn’t provided any interim goals and refuses to look at divestment. You can learn more about TIAA’s contribution to climate destruction by reading the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report, TIAA Fails Clients On Climate.

What can I do? 

TIAA-Divest!’s strategy is to encourage participants like you to pressure TIAA to change their behavior. You can support this movement and demand TIAA divest and stop greenwashing by joining TIAA-Divest! and encouraging other participants to demand TIAA divest. Visit our take action now section to learn more about how you can get involved in a way that works with your time and availability! 

Take Action Now 

Have you joined our campaign? If not, the next step is for you!

Important Links 

Thank you for your interest in joining TIAA-Divest! If you have any questions please email contact@tiaa-divest.org with any questions.