On February 28, 2025, Trinity College successfully divested from fossil fuel funding, a milestone that reflects years of coordinated efforts between student-led organizations, staff, faculty, and the Trinity administration. In September 2023, after an internal review of Trinity College’s endowments and investment policies — which are overseen by the Board of Trustees — the college announced that they were committed to fully divesting from any financial associations with fossil fuel companies by 2030. 

At the time, according to the internal review, the college did not hold any direct financial ties to these companies, but it did have a small percentage of indirect ties through externally managed funds. 

Last to declare, first to divest

Trinity College’s successful divestment follows similar waves of divestment all across U of T. In November 2024, the School of the Environment announced that it was financially disassociating from partnerships and sponsorships with fossil fuel companies, as well as increasing transparency and promoting greater academic freedom. 

Despite being the first to successfully divest from fossil fuels, Trinity’s divestment commitment declaration in September 2023 came noticeably later than the other two federated colleges. In April 2023, the Victoria University Board of Regents approved a motion to divest following an 18-day Climate Justice UofT (CJUofT)-led student occupation of the “Old Vic” building. Soon after, in June 2023, St. Michael’s College followed suit with an announcement to divest by 2030. 

In an interview with the The Varsity, Mac Xing, a third-year health sciences student and divestment coordinator on behalf of Sustainable Trin — previously known as the Trinity College Environmental Society — said that “[our divestment] is a big win for Trinity College because we were the last to commit to divesting, which was extremely embarrassing for us, [but that] this is a big step forward [in showing] other colleges… it is possible with student action.”

In a message from Trinity College’s newly appointed Provost & Vice-Chancellor Nicholas Terpstra, divesting from the remainder of fossil fuel investments in Trinity’s endowments five years early comes as a result of deliberations between an Investment Committee and its Divestment Working Group, as well as continued pressure from Sustainable Trin and other advocacy groups. 

However, achieving divestment was not an easy feat. 

The current Provost Terpstra has been “cooperative and open to communication,” Xing told The Varsity. However, Xing noted that a lack of transparency and consistent communication between the administration and student groups presented significant challenges for him and his colleagues at Sustainable Trin.

“A lot of the time, it’s really hard to reach the admin and talk about these issues. You might get a meeting, but [divestment] is a long-term process,” said Xing. “If Trinity can appoint leaders that are open to dialogue and are focused on sustainability, then I think [it makes it] a lot easier for students to make change.”

What’s next for divestment at Trinity?

Sustainable Trin’s next major goal is to push Trinity College Meeting (TCM) — the highest body of student governance at Trinity — to sever ties with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). According to a 2022 report by environmental groups, RBC was the leading fossil fuel financier in the world, with other Canadian banks like Toronto Dominion and Scotiabank not far behind. 

Divesting from RBC is also not a new goal. The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Board of Directors passed a motion in 2023 to cut ties with RBC after a sit-in held by CJUofT in the union’s Student Commons. UTSU’s motion was just a small piece of a larger mosaic of student-led campaigns and protests to pressure other institutional bodies to strongly reconsider their association with the bank. 

According to Xing, TCM successfully passed a motion calling for TCM to move away from RBC and begin banking with more ethical financial institutions. “[This motion] just shows the support that we have from the students,” said Xing. 

Despite this support, Sustainable Trin is still pushing for support from Trinity’s administration, which remains an obstacle. Moving forward, Xing and his colleagues hope to collaborate with TCM and Trinity as a whole to investigate how the college can responsibly transition to more sustainable banking.