Two committees at Stanford released reports this summer related to research funding and the fossil fuel industry.

On June 27, a report from the university’s Committee on Funding for Energy Research and Education (CFERE) recommended against prohibiting research funds from fossil fuel companies, citing academic freedom as “an underpinning of good science” and the need for a “robust and diverse” approach to climate solutions.

Two months later, a committee formed by Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Dean Arun Majumdar and Vice Provost and Dean of Research David Studdert to review the activities of the school’s industrial affiliates programs completed its work.

The report from this group, known as the Industrial Affiliates Review Committee (IARC), concluded that while the school’s programs largely adhere to university rules, there are opportunities for improvement. For example, the committee noted compliance with a rule requiring programs to have at least two faculty engaging with multiple companies and clarity on the role of advisory boards could be improved.

“The work of both these committees demonstrates Stanford’s commitment to addressing the globe’s most pressing issues in sustainability and energy,” said Majumdar. “Most importantly, the committees based their efforts on extensive engagement and consultation from across the university community, with particular emphasis on considering a range of perspectives. Ultimately, the committees’ conclusions represent confidence in our faculty and in the policies aimed at fostering research, empowering educational efforts, and promoting transparency.”

Current funding and alternative approaches

The university created the CFERE in December 2022. Its charge was to explore current funding the university receives from fossil fuel companies, approaches of other universities, and the pros and cons of accepting such funds and of alternative approaches. Co-chaired by Paul Brest, former dean of Stanford Law School, and Debra Satz, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, the committee drew from diverse academic backgrounds and broad, relevant experience, and included input from administration, faculty, and students.

The committee concluded that, if the university were to forbid fossil fuel companies from becoming members of industrial affiliates programs based on their climate-related activities, it would violate academic freedom and impede climate solutions. The final report noted that Stanford’s 1974 Statement on Academic Freedom prohibits “institutional orthodoxy,” meaning the administration may not take positions on political and social issues because that would inhibit researchers from taking alternate positions. However, the committee indicated that dissociation based on companies’ propagation of disinformation would be permissible if based on objective and reliable criteria.

“Two fundamental principles are core to the CFERE report. The first is academic freedom, which requires freedom from institutional orthodoxy. The second is adherence to university guidelines,” Majumdar said. “These principles, in addition to transparency, will be our guideposts in the Doerr School of Sustainability following the CFERE report.”

Committees, student recommendations, and next steps

The university is taking actions in four key areas in response to the recommendations in the CFERE report and the Stanford Daily letter. These actions include the Doerr School of Sustainability’s updated web page showing funding for industrial affiliates programs, ongoing reviews of industrial affiliates programs’ compliance with university policies, a new Law School Policy Lab exploring dissociation from companies based on past propagation of disinformation, and efforts within the Doerr School of Sustainability to help plan pathways for nations and companies to transition to net-zero emissions.

“The Committee on Funding for Energy Research and Education, the Industrial Affiliates Review Committee, and our school have listened to the students and are responding to their recommendations,” Majumdar said.

• Transparency in industrial affiliates funding

  In January 2024 the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability posted a list of its Industrial Affiliates Programs and their funding sources. The school will update this information annually.

• Compliance with policy

  The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability formed its IARC in February 2024. Following the committee’s report this summer, the school is now working with the relevant faculty directors to ensure they are fully compliant with university policies. The school expects all programs to be in full compliance by the end of the autumn quarter.

  Studdert and Jennifer Widom, dean of the School of Engineering, commissioned a broader, campus-wide review following release of the June 2024 CFERE report. That effort is being led by Bruce Clemens, professor emeritus in the School of Engineering, and Maureen McNichols, the Marriner S. Eccles Professor of Accounting and Public and Private Management at the Graduate School of Business.

  “Stanford has the benefit of a thoughtful policy governing our industrial affiliates programs,” said Studdert. “The CFERE report provided a timely reminder that we should ensure all programs adhere to this policy. And the review just completed of the Doerr School’s programs gives Bruce and Maureen a valuable roadmap as they begin to examine the rest of the university’s industrial affiliates programs.”

• Exploring dissociation

  The Stanford Daily letter included a recommendation to eliminate financial sponsorship or “dissociate” from organizations that have obstructed climate policy in the last five years, through actions such as false or misleading advertising. The CFERE report recommended creation of a Law School Policy Lab to examine the possibility of developing standards to determine whether participating companies or trade associations have “systematically engaged in propagating disinformation.” In response to the recommendations in the letter and the CFERE report, a policy lab on this topic (LAW 809V / SUSTAIN 213), co-taught by Brest and Doerr School of Sustainability professor Noah Diffenbaugh, will be offered this fall.

• Transition pathways

  Finally, the Stanford Daily letter and the CFERE report included a recommendation for Stanford to support creation of a research initiative “tasked with evaluating partners’ transition pathways and creating standards for emissions accounting.” In response, the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability is now working to build an alliance of companies looking to achieve net-zero emissions. This effort will use the school’s research and education to help create affordable, reliable, secure, and equitable transitions to net zero. The school’s response also includes a plan to engage globally to help develop country-level transition pathways to low-carbon economies in key countries through partnership with other academic, government, and nonprofit institutions.

  “This will be a decade-long effort involving the scholarship of numerous faculty, students, and postdocs with the goal of reporting progress at the COP30 meeting in Brazil in November 2025, marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement,” Majumdar said.