After garnering student support and attention at its far-reaching field-day, 5C Environmental Justice (5CEJ) met with the Claremont Colleges’ Business and Financial Affairs Committee (BFAC) on March 5 to lobby for a consortium-wide transition to renewable energy sources, while Claremont McKenna College’s student body voted that night to support the campaign.
The renewable energy “Claremont OFF Fossil Fuels” campaign, run by 5CEJ, advocates for the Colleges to stop purchasing electricity from Southern California Edison (SCE), an investor-owned utility that relies heavily on fossil fuels, and instead enroll in the Clean Power Alliance (CPA), a not-for-profit energy provider that offers 100 percent renewable energy options.
15 percent of the CMC student body — more than 200 students — voted on the renewable energy transition in an online referendum on Thursday, with over 90 percent supporting the resolution that the Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College Senate previously passed on Monday.
While 5CEJ continues efforts to increase student engagement, campaign advocates have also sought approval from 7C management committees.
In December, they met with the Facilities Managers Committee to present concrete transition ideas. On Thursday, 5CEJ’s proposal was reviewed in a meeting with BFAC — a body composed of financial leadership from across the colleges — and club leadership. The review represented a critical stage in the decision-making process, as the committee evaluated whether switching to CPA is financially viable.
Though BFAC’s decision is still pending, if approved, the proposal will advance to a consortium-wide presidents committee for final consideration.
The renewable energy resolutions involve all of the Claremont Colleges except Keck Graduate Institute, which already purchased electricity from the CPA alongside the rest of the city due to its location on the other side of the Claremont Village.
According to “Claremont OFF Fossil Fuels” campaign co-founder Milo Slevin PO ‘28, the six other colleges opted out of joining CPA when the rest of Claremont opted in three years ago, instead deciding to continue purchasing electricity from SCE for its lower rates.
“It’s really due to cost at the end of the day,” Slevin said. “[College officials] decided that they didn’t want to make a financial investment in renewable energy despite their commitments to switching to clean energy and to carbon neutrality.”
At the field day on Saturday at Pomona’s Walker Beach, Slevin said the main goal of the event was to raise awareness ahead of Thursday night’s review.
“A lot of the decisions that our administrators make are based on how much students care and how much students are invested,” Slevin said. “We really want as many students as possible to be invested in this important decision.”
The event connected 15 environmental and political clubs and organizations from across the consortium including 5C Democrats, 5C Plant-based mission, Pitzer EcoReps and Pomona College Farm to support 5CEJ’s campaign and build community in an afternoon of music, lawn games and outreach.
Hope Dragseth SC ’28, the 5CEJ outreach lead on the campaign’s working group, said the event showcased sustained student interest, as their proposal advances through the institutional review process.
“We got over 1,000 signatures for people saying they wanted to switch over to CPA,” Dragseth said. “We wanted to make sure people didn’t forget that our campaign is still here.”
“We got over 1,000 signatures for people saying they wanted to switch over to CPA,” Dragseth said. “We wanted to make sure people didn’t forget that our campaign is still here.”
Lucy Reed SC ‘28, who co-leads the 5CEJ campaign working group with Slevin, said their efforts spotlight a discrepancy between the Colleges’ commitment to environmental justice and the actual steps taken towards the mission.
Pitzer, Pomona and CMC each state carbon neutrality goals on their websites, while Harvey Mudd mentions “reducing its impact on the environment” and Scripps states it is committed to reducing carbon emissions.
“Currently, we purchase electricity through SCE and we don’t feel that that aligns with the values of the colleges,” Reed said.
According to Reed, the proposed switch would not require changes to campus infrastructure but rather a shift in the allocation of institutional funds.
Field day attendees also framed the campaign as an issue of institutional accountability.
5C Democrats President David Taylor CM ’26 said the proposed switch is about whether administrators are responsive to student concerns.
“If we are able to actually get these schools to listen to us and respond to the students who pay to attend these institutions, then I think that’s invaluable,” Taylor said. “This is absolutely worth fighting for.”
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