Dear Dr. Arun Majumdar, Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability,

Congratulations on your recent appointment as Dean of the newly established Doerr School of Sustainability. We are grateful for your leadership, vision, and career dedicated to a sustainable energy future.

The formation of this new School marks a historic opportunity for Stanford University to take a bold effort toward mitigating climate change. We believe that fossil fuel funding represents an inherent conflict of interest, is incompatible with the university’s core academic and social values, and supports industry greenwashing.

We, the undersigned faculty, students, postdocs, staff, and alumni of Stanford University, therefore call for the Doerr School of Sustainability and affiliated institutions to decline funding from fossil fuel companies. Instead, the School should seek out partnerships with organizations and companies who are fully aligned with Stanford's vision of achieving carbon neutrality. We want to note that our call applies to the Doerr School of Sustainability and its affiliated institutions, not to the funding obtained by individual faculty members. 

Continuing to accept funding from and collaborating with the fossil fuel industry presents a conflict of interest for the School of Sustainability, as many fossil fuel companies have a proven record of actively obscuring the scientific consensus on climate change, obstructing climate policy, and knowingly and willingly perpetuating the climate crisis. Contrary to messages promoted by the industry, the core business of fossil fuel companies remains the production and distribution of fossil fuels, and substantial diversification into clean and renewable energy has not occurred. By collaborating with fossil fuel companies, the School endangers its academic integrity. It is difficult to imagine that fossil fuel companies - whose core business model is diametrically opposed to science-led climate action - are appropriate partners for climate-related research. It is no longer reasonable, let alone ethical, for the School to maintain its ties with the industry most responsible for perpetuating the climate crisis.

Strong collaboration between the School of Sustainability and the fossil fuel industry also threatens our school’s credibility, reputation, and attractiveness for current and prospective students, staff, and faculty. Though these companies present themselves as leaders in sustainability, their investments in oil and gas continue to dwarf their renewable energy investments, which represent just a small percentage of their total capital expenditure. Collaborating with these companies is inimical to academic institutions’ pledges for climate action. Continued funding from fossil fuel companies threatens to erode trust in Stanford’s scientific and cultural commitment to climate action. The research conducted at Stanford carries significant weight in the conversation around tackling the climate crisis, and the university cannot afford to lose out on the brightest talents or have its voice compromised. 

We appreciate the impacts that a change in the attitude towards fossil fuel funding will have on the Doerr School of Sustainability and its affiliated institutions. However, we believe that Stanford's location, history, and connections to the private sector will enable the School of Sustainability to forge new relations and partnerships that are aligned with its vision and values. Scientific research tells us that the window for action is closing, and we believe that as one of the world’s leading academic institutions, we have a moral responsibility to act.

Sincerely yours, 

The undersigned faculty, students, postdocs, staff, and alumni of Stanford University.