There’s a certain air to Illini basketball that can only be found in Big Ten athletics. Imagine: It’s the beginning of the first quarter and the band is playing “William Tell” with their silver instruments bobbing up and down. Fans are still on their feet, and the stadium seems to rumble with orange and blue electricity. We’re here to cheer on our Fighting Illini.
As students at the University of Illinois, we hold our team, ourselves and our University to a high standard.
We have the opportunity to be part of a vibrant athletic community while working toward our futures academically and professionally. But we have to ask: What will that future look like when one of the main sponsors of the Big Ten basketball tournament, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, hides behind our love of sports while investing billions in fossil fuels?
TIAA is a trillion-dollar retirement fund that has bankrolled the Big Ten tournament for the past two years. In principle, this organization participates in social good, having started as a pension fund for teachers and nonprofit workers. They claim to be a leader in socially responsible investment.
But an exhaustive review by financial detectives revealed that this isn’t the case. TIAA holds at least $78 billion in fossil fuel companies, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. They are the fourth-largest holder of coal bonds in the world. These investments include $660 million in ExxonMobil, $650 million in Chevron, just over $98 million in Enbridge and $100 million in the Adani Group.
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These are companies that finance new pipelines, oil rigs and coal mines.
TIAA has over $206 million invested in ConocoPhillips, the owner and operator of the Willow Project, which is predicted to generate 280 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. TIAA’s subsidiaries, who don’t do any better in absolving themselves of fossil fuels, also own over $1.624 billion in shares in ConocoPhillips.
Greenwashing is the practice of concealing ties to fossil fuels while hiding behind a facade portraying a company as “green” or environmentally conscious and invested in a sustainable future. “Let’s build a future you can count on” is the first message you’ll find on TIAA’s website, which is clad in blue and green.
What “future?” Who is this future for? Given the nature of TIAA’s investments, the future it guarantees leaves a lot of us out. TIAA’s investments directly contribute to the environmental crisis threatening the health of our planet and people.
While sponsoring a tournament uplifting young athletes and holding pensions for our professors, TIAA is creating a future increasingly uncertain and detrimental to us all. We want better for our team, our professors and our future.
TIAA is exploiting our pride. As we inch closer to tipoff at the Big Ten tournament, let’s demand that TIAA divest from fossil fuels. Let’s demand transparency and honesty — we expect nothing less for our Fighting Illini.
Sophia is a sophomore in LAS and a member of Students for Environmental Concerns.
Michael is a sophomore in LAS and a member of Students for Environmental Concerns.
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