Duke University
Endowment Value: $12.7 billion (2021)
Duke University is a private college located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's endowment is managed by the Duke University Management Company (DUMAC). In 2004, the Duke Board of Trustees approved a set of SRI guidelines and the establishment of two committees, the President’s Special Committee on Investment Responsibility (PSC) and the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility (ACIR), to advise the Board of Trustees on investment-related issues and proposals. The Board of Trustees also instructs DUMAN to exercise shareholder rights to support sustainable policy changes of companies the university is a shareholder of. Duke has taken action to support sustainability initiatives across campus.
According to a 2016 report, DUMAC relies upon positive and best-in-class screening as well as ESG factor analysis to drive investment decisions. As a result, the endowment portfolio encompasses several environmental technologies and renewable energy companies. In 2013, Duke established its Social Choice Fund as an alternative fund within the endowment for donors interested in SRI. The Social Choice Fund is managed by a third party.
In November 2019, a student-run organization called Duke Impact Investing Group was awarded $100,000 from the university to invest for positive change. The group aims to educate students about impact investing while providing them with hands-on experience with ESG investing.
Duke University is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- AASHE STARS: No
- ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2024
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
- CDP: No
- Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
- Divestment Goal: No
- INCR: No
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: No
- Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
- Principles for Responsible Investment: No
Other Sustainable Investing Practices:
- Duke Sustainability
- Duke Climate Action Plan (2019, updated)
- Duke Revises Approach To Socially Responsible Investing
- Documents from the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility
- Sustainable Duke: Sustainable Investment and Procurement Research Paper (April 2016)