Harvard has become the first American university to sign on to a United Nations-backed code of responsible investment – in a move to assuage a carbon divestment campaign. Six months after explicitly rejecting calls to divest from fossil fuels, managers of Harvard's $33bn endowment will now be guided by a set of investment principles taking into account environmental and social factors such as water and human rights, the university announced...The new guidelines, set by the Principles of Responsible Investment organisation, do not commit Harvard to selling existing holdings in fossil fuels. But campaigners still claimed the step as a victory for a divestment movement that has now spread to more than 500 university campuses and other institutions across America and Europe...Campaigning organisation Divest Harvard in its statement noted that the university still had millions invested in fossil fuels...The university will also join the Carbon Disclosure Project, requiring companies held by Harvard to report on their carbon footprint.