FOLLOWING YEARS OF STUDENT CLIMATE ADVOCACY, SIT-INS, AND PROTESTS, U OF O ACCEPTS A DONATION FROM MAJOR FOSSIL FUEL INVESTOR, RBC, TO FUND A NEW ENVIRONMENT CENTERED BUSINESS PROGRAM
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) committed to a $2 million donation to Telfer’s new Green Academy, a program which would teach students “to tackle global environmental challenges [through] sustainable business.”
The interdisciplinary initiative is a collaboration between the School of Management and Telfer’s Centre for Sustainable Impact and Innovation in Development, “made possible by a generous gift from the RBC foundation.”
The donation was announced Sept. 26 during a microcredit course offered to Telfer students, following over a decade of advocacy from various student movements against university partnerships with large investors in fossil fuels.
Students’ advocacy for the university to take greater environmental responsibility has been assembled under: Fossil Free UOttawa, Climate Justice UOttawa (CJUO), and with “RBC off campus.”
Concerned over environmental harm, specifically on unceded Indigenous land, these groups have counter-promoted the bank since the 2019 opening of RBC’s branch in University Centre. Notable actions include counter-promotion outside of their tabling at the 2023 club fair, as well as a sit-in, banging pots, and handing out flyers inside the financial center.
The University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU), adopted students’ opposition to RBC, pledging to work towards divesting from companies that profit from “exploitation or oppression” during their 2022 fall general assembly.
University of Ottawa students are not alone in the fight for divestment from large environmental corporations. The “off campus” movement organized by Change Course, is present on 17 campuses across Canada, calling for the Big 5 banks — RBC, TD, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, and CIBC — to be replaced by credit unions.
Specifically, RBC has been facing criticism since they were revealed to be the largest fossil fuel project financier in 2022 and placed under investigation by Canada’s Competition Bureau over alleged greenwashing — explained as “the promotion of false solutions to the climate crisis that distract from and delay concrete and credible action,” per the United Nations.
Skepticism surrounding RBC’s commitment to improving their environmental impact continues. In April 2025, the bank abandoned their $500 billion target in sustainable financing, to “accelerat[e] the transition to a greener economy”. According to CBC, the bank’s removal was due to policy changes aimed at preventing greenwashing.
