Administrative presidents across the 5Cs announced Friday, April 17, that the colleges will transition to 100 percent renewable energy by enrolling in the Clean Power Alliance (CPA), following a yearlong 5C Environmental Justice (5CEJ) campaign to phase out fossil fuels.
The “Claremont Off Fossil Fuels” campaign collected more than 1,300 petition signatures since Oct. 2025 in support of a proposal for the colleges to stop purchasing electricity from Southern California Edison (SCE) — an investor-owned utility that primarily relies on fossil fuels — and instead enroll in the CPA, a not-for-profit energy provider that offers 100 percent renewable energy options. The Claremont Colleges’ Business and Financial Affairs Committee and the consortium-wide presidents’ committee have now approved the proposal.
The transition to renewable energy is expected to take about six months and will significantly reduce emissions, including an estimated 30 percent reduction at Pomona College, according to an email statement from Pomona College President Gabrielle Starr.
“This pivotal development is another powerful example of what is possible when our campus community comes together to turn goals into measurable climate action,” Starr wrote to the Pomona student body today.
5CEJ representatives announced the win at their Riding Rally this afternoon, which began outside Harvey Mudd College’s Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons and concluded on Marston Quad at Pomona. Around 40 students, holding signs and wearing face paint, biked across the campuses. They stopped by the financial office of each college to deliver petition signatures and thank-you notes to those involved in the decision-making process.
“We wanted something that was both visible and also applying pressure to admin,” Lucy Reed SC ’28, a campaign working group leader, said. “The riding rally was sort of the culmination of all of that.”
Reed said the event purposefully reflected the campaign’s broader strategy of combining visible student mobilization with direct engagement with decision-makers.
“We wanted to go to every office that had a say in this and bring them the accumulation of a year’s worth of work — the signatures, the letters, the resolutions,” she said.
Milo Slevin PO ’28, campaign co-founder, framed the renewable energy announcement as the result of sustained pressure from students.
“15 months ago, this wasn’t even being considered,” he said. “We had to build the case, build the support and put it in front of them until they had to act.”
Slevin also said the transition marks a concrete shift in how the colleges demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by taking action that immediately reduces their carbon footprint.
“What it means is 100 percent of our energy purchasing is coming from renewable sources,” Slevin said. “This isn’t offsets or promises, this is a direct switch … That’s a real, material change.”