BANGOR (AP) — A University of Maine System committee will consider whether the institutions’ should stop investing in coal mining companies.

The Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees will meet Dec. 3 to discuss the proposal. If it’s approved, it will go to the seven-school board.

Under the proposal, the university system would end direct investments in coal companies while negatively screening for coal when considering future investments.

UMS Director of Public Relations Dan Demeritt said the universities are working to reduce their carbon footprint but that the committee also has to consider its “responsibility to seek returns on investments and mitigate risk.”

He said the committee will determine whether the proposal “strikes the appropriate balance.”

Demeritt said the proposal is similar to one approved by Stanford University this year.