COA became one of the first colleges to divest from fossil fuels.

Following COA’s decision to go carbon neutral in 2007, the college decided to divest from fossil fuels in 2013. The institution was one of the first to do this. This decision followed in a long tradition of COA using investment to stand up for the values of the college, such as when COA stopped investing in tobacco or when, in 1983, the college divested from South African-based companies in protest of apartheid. Having already sold its holdings in ExxonMobil in 2006, the college took a further step towards complete divestment from fossil fields in January 2013. The movement started with students and faculty members collecting signatures, researching the school’s investment portfolio and working to create a proposal. The proposal was accepted by the Board of Trustees on March 11. On March 12, the college divested $1 million from fossil fuel industries.