Union General Meeting (28th Feb 2008)
Sustainable Banking - Keep The Oil In The Soil
Proposed by: John Nicholls
Seconded by: Joe Thwaites, Freddy Vanson, Kate Evans and Kate Harrison
This union notes:
(i) That our Union funds are held currently with NatWest bank
(ii) That NatWest bank is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group
(iii) That RBS-NatWest are specialists in providing funding and financial advice to oil and gas extraction projects, providing over $10 billion in loans between 2001 and 2006 for that purpose1 [ “The Oil and Gas Bank” CarbonWeb report available at http://peopleandplanet.org/dl/ddd/rbs_report.pdf]
(iv) The letter sent by NUS National Treasurer Dave Lewis to the Chairperson of the Royal Bank of Scotland last December, in which he expressed concern on behalf of the NUS over such funding2 [2http://www.officeronline.co.uk/blogs/davelewis/275029.aspx]
This union believes:
(i) That tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development are some of the biggest challenges that our generation faces
(ii) That the funding of oil and gas projects to such an extent by RBS is having a considerable negative impact on the environment, as well as many local communities, and ties us into a fossil-fuel dependent future
(iii) That the funding of such projects is not in accordance with our own efforts to reduce our environmental impact as part of our principles to combat climate change
(iv) That our Union funds should be managed with these principles firmly in mind
This union resolves:
(i) To communicate with the NUS on this issue, expressing our support as a member union of the actions they have taken
(ii) To action the Services and Finance Officer to contact RBS expressing our concern as a customer of NatWest over their funding of oil and gas projects
(iii) To action the Environment and Ethics Officers to work with the Services and Finance Officer to explore alternative, ethical banking options
(iv) To mandate the Union to switch funds to an account deemed appropriate by the above mentioned officers and agreed by the Executive Committee, should no action be visible on the part of RBS following a period of twelve months
