UK Students Launch Barclays 'Career Boycott' Over Bank's Climate Policies (theguardian.com) 47
Hundreds of students from leading UK universities have launched a "career boycott" of Barclays over its climate policies, warning that the bank will miss out on top talent unless it stops financing fossil fuel companies. From a report: More than 220 students from Barclays' top recruitment universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, and University College London, have sent a letter to the high street lender, saying they will not work for Barclays and raising the alarm over its funding for oil and gas firms including Shell, TotalEnergies, Exxon and BP. "Your ambitious decarbonisation targets are discredited by your absence of action and the roster of fossil fuel companies on your books," the letter said. "You may say you're working with them to help them transition, but Shell, Total and BP have all rowed back."
Large oil firms have started to water down climate commitments, including BP, which originally pledged to lower emissions by 35% by 2030 but is now aiming for a 20% to 30% cut instead. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil quietly withdrew funding for plans to use algae to create low-carbon fuel, while Shell announced it would not increase its investments in renewable energy this year, despite earlier promises to slash its emissions. The letter calls on Barclays to end all financing and underwriting of oil and gas companies -- not only their projects -- and to boost funding of firms behind wind and solar energy significantly.
Large oil firms have started to water down climate commitments, including BP, which originally pledged to lower emissions by 35% by 2030 but is now aiming for a 20% to 30% cut instead. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil quietly withdrew funding for plans to use algae to create low-carbon fuel, while Shell announced it would not increase its investments in renewable energy this year, despite earlier promises to slash its emissions. The letter calls on Barclays to end all financing and underwriting of oil and gas companies -- not only their projects -- and to boost funding of firms behind wind and solar energy significantly.
Lol (Score:5, Insightful)
Looks like 220 "top students" are about to get a rude awakening as to just how meaningless they are, as there are always highly qualified candidates to fill such positions, but because they're coming from "lesser" schools they'll be more eager for the chance.
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Yes and no. It's unlikely this will have any noticeable effect on Barclays but it also won't really impact the students - lots of other opportunities oitside Barclays, so no gain and no loss = no 'rude awakening' just a yawn.
Re:Lol (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes and no. It's unlikely this will have any noticeable effect on Barclays but it also won't really impact the students - lots of other opportunities oitside Barclays, so no gain and no loss = no 'rude awakening' just a yawn.
Based on the provided list of target schools "opportunties" reads more like "connected parents."
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Maybe instead of diplomas, we should be giving our graduates a severe beating, just to reming them that, no, you really aren't the center of the universe, and the rest of us are not here to serve you. Deal.
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Not just how meaningless but the fact that nobody wants to hire a rabble-rouser especially one with zero work experience. Companies are in business to make money and they are going to invest to get the best return on their investment. They aren't going to hire people who try to torpedo that which makes money. The disturbing part is that these newly-minted grads aren't going to change like previous generations did. They will double-down on their attitude and probably wind up working for some NGO and cause ch
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The chaos comes when your chalet burns to the ground because of heightened weather events. Or your yacht gets hit by a rogue wave and ruins your dinner party.
Maybe you won't suffer because crops are failing. Or perhaps you can still play golf in Arizona as the Colorado dries up.
After all, you don't have any investments in those shit-hole countries like tawdry if drowning South Pacific Islands. Instead, perhaps your investment is in Hudson Bay, where your retreat will make megabucks for your grandchildren--
Can't have the "totalitarian" ... (Score:2)
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Unless 220 students from "top UK universities" are acting on behalf of the state, this isn't it. https://www.britannica.com/top... [britannica.com]
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Chemistry and physics. Most schools teach them.
they need to push for more Nuclear power! (Score:2)
they need to push for more Nuclear power!
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Unicorn Fart, accept no substitution.
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they need to push for more Nuclear power!
Why not fusion? I mean if we're going to promote a technology that has no hope in hell of being delivered in a time frame relevant to any climate policies you may as well go all out.
Fight Against Climate Change (Score:1)
https://on.soundcloud.com/2HU4ejuKap4X4AzCA
Raising the alarm (Score:1, Insightful)
These woke students are welsome to stay unemployed.
Their sense of entilement is strong yet stupid, as are they.
Goodbye know-nothings have-done-nothings (that's "students") telling establishments how to function.
Stupid whiny children. When we want your input, we'll ask you -- real world businesses.
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I don't know - the complaints over Barclays and apartheid in S. Africa were effective back in the day. And why shouldn't students choose to make a stand, you know those freedoms people are supposed to have...
Only when you agree I guess.
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I don't know - the complaints over Barclays and apartheid in S. Africa were effective back in the day. And why shouldn't students choose to make a stand, you know those freedoms people are supposed to have...
Only when you agree I guess.
They have complete freedom to boycott Barclays. And we have complete freedom to laugh at them.
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When we want your input, we'll give it to you. -- real world businesses.
FTFY. HAND.
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These woke students are welsome to stay unemployed.
Worrying about climate change is "woke" now? Do you even know the difference between "woke", "politically correct", "socialism" and "progressive"?
I don't know how it works in finance (Score:3)
But my experience in the tech industry is most companies assume that talent needs the corporation more than the corporation needs them, and treats employees accordingly.
Re:I don't know how it works in finance (Score:4, Insightful)
But my experience in the tech industry is most companies assume that talent needs the corporation more than the corporation needs them, and treats employees accordingly.
Really? I thank my lucky stars every day I took up programming as a hobby when I was 12, because I get paid very well, have a large benefits package, twice as much PTO as I tend to need. My commute is six feet long, and takes half as many seconds. Sometimes I put on pants before 5pm, but it is far from a foregone conclusion. I am sitting here right now, because I have the week between Christmas and New Year off. Paid. It is my second job in a row where this has been the case.
Not bad for an aging manchild who has considered therapy to help silence the demons brought on by a couple of bad Arma 3 sessions.
If you think we have it bad, you do not even want to know what cab drivers, fishermen, and construction workers go through.
In the USA, just about everyone short of politicians have it worse than we do. I spent Christmas Day bemoaning the fact that one of my deliveries had been delayed until Tuesday. Could not one of those delivery primadonnas not get off of his lazy ass and delivery my package on Christmas?
I mean, do you know who else did not get deliveries on Christmas?
Holocaust victims.
And now we had something in common. I felt like I finally understood their pain,
Now if you will excuse me, it is Wednesday morning and I have sixty Steam titles that are not going to play themselves. Glad I sprang for that $2,100 GPU last month, because if I had to endure one more minute of framerates in the 50s, and occasionally, dare I say 40s, I was going to lose it. Oh yes, that purchase spared some poor Reddit group the mother of all hissy fits.
But anyway, yeah, I am with you. I am sick and tired of not being appreciated.
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This isn't a competition of who has it worse. I'm sure I can find some kid digging gemstones from a diamond mind that has all of us beat. It's not the point.
The point is that companies behave in a way that tells me that they don't value their employees. That's it. That's all I was trying to say.
Re: I don't know how it works in finance (Score:2)
That's universally true for kids out of school. In order for the corporation to need the talent more, that talent needs to become established and have a demonstrated track record of being valuable to the business. Any business.
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And by and large, they are correct.
It is OK! (Score:2)
Miss out on talent? No, they won't. (Score:3)
The threat is that by not changing policies these companies are missing out on "top talent" from universities. No, they won't miss out on any talent because they are not likely to want to hire someone new out of university thinking that they should be setting corporate policy.
I have to wonder what these same universities are thinking about the kind of doublespeak coming out of the White House, that by increasing domestic petroleum production there would be a reduction in CO2 emissions. That kind of nonsense isn't unique, we see this around the world. My guess is it was the "top talent" out of universities that came up with these policies. They do this because it is easier to talk than to do. If I'm to believe what is going on in the world right now then by denying the fossil fuel industry their "top talent" then they are making global warming worse.
What interesting times to live in.
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These things have to start somewhere. They aren't the only ones looking at the ethics of prospective employers.
I passed up a lucrative job in the tobacco industry a few years ago. They wanted me to build them electronic cigarettes. The money was good, but I just couldn't bring myself to work for them when offered the job. They lost their preferred candidate due to the ethics of their business.
win-win (Score:3)
This really helps Barclay's in its hiring.
This might raise pay for those who don't boycott (Score:2)
If enough people boycott, there will potentially be more competition for workers who aren't part of the boycott, raising their pay. In the end, most people have a hard time justifying turning down more money.
Spawn of the wealthy? (Score:2)
These students are clearly not qualified anyway (Score:2)
Great for hiring managers (Score:1)
Good work! They've provided a convenient list of people who are scientifically and economically illiterate and thus unqualified. That saves a lot of time and effort in the hiring process. The list is also a convenient list of who to hire for interpretive dance and underwater basket-weaving.
If they don't want a job, FUCK THEM! (Score:2)
Seriously.
This hippie-dippy shit needs to stop.
HARD!
The job market isn't so great that people get quite THAT much choice.
If you don't want to do the job because of your ideological hangups, that's YOUR PROBLEM.
There's dozens, or hundreds of people who'll happily do the job and take the salary.
Telling a would-be employer that you're twisting their arm unless they do what YOU want (instead of what makes business sense), they can politely eat a giant-sized bag of giant-sized dicks.
The political landscape (Score:2)
I'm reminded of Greta Thunberg and her activism declaring old people are arseholes: That didn't matter until it did. Young people started making their own politicians, forcing the wealthy to to do something. (Hence, the empty promises from the fossil fuel sector.) Now, old people are attempting to return their money-grabbing ways, these youngsters are reminding their colleagues of the dishonesty.
The effect on Barclays and these students, will be minimal to none. But the effect to the political landsc
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I'm reminded of Greta Thunberg and her activism declaring old people are arseholes: That didn't matter until it did.
When did that start? I had not noticed.
Nothing of value was lost (Score:1)
as a business manager... (Score:2)
...I'd like to get these brave students' names so I can avoid them and their bullshit like cancer.
Sounds like Barclays (and comparable companies) just avoided 220 self-dodging bullets.
50 years ago ... (Score:2)
Their management do seem to have a problem with foot-in-mouth syndrome.
Study (Score:1)