Another university just ditched fossil fuel and arms companies – thanks to student campaigns

Arts University Bournemouth has announced it will boycott fossil fuel industry recruitment, implementing a new Ethical Careers Policy. The university has now excluded oil, gas, and arms industries from attending careers fairs or advertising vacancies through the university’s Careers and Enterprise Service.

Arts University Bournemouth: offloading fossil fuels and arms

Arts University Bournemouth is now the 11th UK university to end fossil fuel recruitment on campus, following a wave of student pressure for universities across the UK to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry over environmental and social justice concerns.

As the Canary previously reported, in December 2024 Aberystwyth University committed to ending its recruitment ties with fossil fuel and mining companies. In doing so, it became the third university in Wales to exclude the fossil fuel industry from its careers and recruitment activities.

In an updated Ethical Careers Policy published on Aberystwyth’s website, the university states that it will “no longer collaborate or hold relationships” with fossil fuel, mining or tobacco companies. This followed similar commitments from the Universities of Swansea in November 2023 and Wrexham in December 2022.

All this comes as part of the Fossil Free Careers campaign led by the UK’s largest student campaigning network, People & Planet.

People & Planet

The campaign calls on universities to adopt an Ethical Careers Policy excluding fossil fuel and mining industries from careers recruitment.

To date, Fossil Free Careers has received backing from 19 students’ unions across the UK and has been endorsed by the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU) at its National Congress.

This announcement from Arts University Bournemouth demonstrates a further commitment to sustainability from the university, as students across the UK continue to push for their universities to cut all ties with the fossil fuel industry.

Alison Zorraquin, employability manager at Arts University Bournemouth, said in a statement:

At AUB, our student cohort strongly values sustainability, equality, and social responsibility. These principles are championed by the university, and in alignment with its code of ethics, we have decided to advertise roles exclusively with companies whose missions align with these values.

Josie Mizen, climate justice co-director at People & Planet said:

We’re delighted to see Arts University Bournemouth become the latest university to cut recruitment ties with the fossil fuel industry. The arts have a pivotal role to play in the fight for a fairer world, so it’s only right that arts universities should be leading the way in putting climate justice front and centre in their work. We hope to see more arts and music colleges follow in their footsteps.

Featured image via the Canary