Our Story

SFU350 is a student-led club organizing for climate justice. We mobilize for systemic change in solidarity with intersecting movements. 

SFU350 is a student-run climate action club operating on the unceded territories of the səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, on which SFU Burnaby is located. We have been active at SFU Burnaby since 2013 and operate under the regulations and guidelines of the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS). We are known as “SFU350” because 350ppm of CO2 represents the safe amount of carbon dioxide for our atmosphere. Currently, we sit at over 400ppm of CO2. 

The club started with a student-led divestment campaign. This campaign called on SFU to divest their financial holdings invested in companies that extract, refine, and transport fossil fuels (i.e. coal, oil, and natural gas). Through numerous initiatives, including but not limited to, presentations to treasury, faculty, the Board of Governors, student funds BEAM and SIAS, and students, research on the financial justification for divestment, and direct actions including student-focused rallies, SFU350 finally completed their divestment campaign with an SFU announcement of full divestment by 2025 in November 2021. 

Besides divestment, SFU350 has drafted and presented a climate emergency declaration open letter to the Board of Governors on decarbonization, divestment and reinvestment, a climate hub, education, raising awareness and amplifying, and climate justice. The Board of Governors has since declared a climate emergency and acknowledged alignment with our recommendations thanks to our advocacy and the advocacy of supportive faculty, unions, and students at SFU. 

SFU350 is dedicated to creating meaningful impacts through various campaigns. By directly lobbying those in positions of power, SFU350 has generated impetus for positive change at the highest level. The club ensures equity, sustainability, and Indigenous sovereignty are centered in all campaigns and has a dedicated working group active with the express purpose of advocating for climate justice. 

Past campaigns have achieved the declaration of a climate emergency from SFU’s Board of Governors; the full divestment of SFU from all financial holdings invested in fossil fuel extraction, refinement, and transportation companies; and the acknowledgment of alignment between SFU’s goals and SFU350’s open letter demands. These milestones were achieved through many months, and even years, of student advocacy – with support being garnered among a multitude of SFU community members and stakeholders. However, SFU350 was the driving organization responsible for initiating this support and lobbying SFU.

SFU350 also remains a dynamic group on campus, with multiple in-progress campaigns focused on issues ranging from the implementation of climate education at the university to advocacy against the Trans Mountain Expansion project. In the spirit of collaboration, these campaigns develop alongside other groups on campus – such as Embark Sustainability, ChangeSFU, and SFU Sustainability (SFUS).