Over 300 Cambridge and Oxford academics have signed a joint statement imploring their universities to pursue “morally sound” investment policies.

The letter, announced this Tuesday in a press release by activist group Positive Investment Cambridge (PIC), contains the signatures of former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, ex-Cambridge MP Julian Huppert, and Sir David MacKay, former chief scientific adviser to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The call is also being backed by Cambridge alumnus and former Tory environment secretary Lord Deben, who said: “These universities are doing tremendously important work on the research side; it would be great to see those contributions reflected in the investment strategies of Europe’s two largest university endowments.”

Deben, currently the chair of the government’s official climate change advisory committee added: “Positive investment is a crucial element of any plan to keep global warming to safe levels.”

The statement comes on the back of student pressure within the university, spurred on by the successes of students at other universities.

The University of Glasgow became the first academic institution in Europe to divest from fossil fuels in 2014, withdrawing £18 million worth of investments.

For its part, Oxford has ruled out future investments in coal and tar sands, but remained mute on divestment within their existing portfolio.

Back in Cambridge, 40 Cambridge JCRs and MCRs (including the undergraduate representatives at all colleges) have supported the statement.

In a statement to Varsity, Zero Carbon congratulated PIC on the “tremendous news”, but emphasised that “above all else, fossil fuel investments have to go”.

Unlike PIC, Zero Carbon is a divestment group pure and simple, arguing only for the university to remove its investments in fossil fuels.

But they were nonetheless keen to point out that the 2,000 students who signed their own petition showed that “the message is clear” on ethical investment.

Hoping to fulfil their more ambitious goal for an active and ethical investment policy, PIC have created an education document and announced in their statement a seminar for journalists on the topic.

“We’d like to create a template for the smartest, most ethical investment strategy there has ever been,” said Ellen Quigley, a Cambridge PhD student who helped with the campaign.

Their hope is to bring the university’s investment in line with their mission statement, which holds as a central value: “concern for sustainability and the relationship with the environment”.

The University of Cambridge responds that it already “seeks to invest responsibly for the good of the university in accordance with our mission to contribute to society”.

Lily MacFadyn, a member of PIC, appreciated the positive contribution to education and research, but noted that “considerations such as sustainability are not presently being considered or engaged with systematically”.

She also mentioned the difficulty in finding out what exactly the university is investing in, since the university believes this would compromise their financial advantage. However, it is highly likely that they are investing in resources like fossil fuels because they tend to make excellent returns.

The campaign is being advised by green and ethical investment specialists Abundance Investment, who’s co-founder Bruce Davis said: “Investing is not just about future returns, it is also about building the future you want for yourself and future generations.”

So far they have succeeded in pressing the university into commissioning “a thorough and unique review” of the environmental and social aspects of investment decisions and set up a working group to develop on this evidence.

The working group, which includes two members of PIC, is due to produce a report for presentation to the University Council, expected by spring, which will be responsible for action taken thereafter.

The joint statement commends this development while asking the university to take a strong stand when the issue comes to the University Council.

The University of Oxford is yet to respond.