Georgetown University 

Endowment Value: $2.59 billion (2021)

Georgetown University is a private college located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown’s strong Catholic and Jesuit identity mandates that the University has an ethical responsibility to pursue an investment strategy that is consistent with its founding values of social justice, protection of human life and dignity, stewardship for the planet and promotion of the common good. The University’s current socially responsible investing (SRI) policy was approved by the Board in 2017. Georgetown also has a Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility (CISR) that is charged with making recommendations regarding the University’s voting of shareholder proxies and advising the Subcommittee on Investments of the Committee on Finance and Administration. 

In 2015, the Board of Directors officially approved the decision to divest from direct investments in companies whose principal business is the mining of coal for use in energy production. This decision was based on proposals and petitions submitted by Georgetown University Fossil Free, a student group advocating for fossil fuel divestment. In 2018, the University elected to divest from companies whose primary business is the extraction of tar sands, an industry with a detrimental effect on the environment and the public health of communities living near extraction sites.   

In 2020, the Georgetown Board of Trustees adopted a new policy on impact investments that included a commitment to total fossil fuel divestment by 2030. The new policy stated that Georgetown will divest from all public fossil fuel securities within five years and will divest from all private investments in fossil fuel companies within ten years.

Initiatives & Commitments: 

• AASHE STARS: No
• ACUPCC: No
• Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
• CDP: No
• Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes, Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility
• Divestment Goal: Yes, divestment of fossil fuels by 2030
• INCR: No
• Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
• Sustainable Investment Fund: No
• Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
• Principles for Responsible Investment: No 

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

• Georgetown Policy on Impact Investments and Fossil Fuel Divestment, February 2020
• Sustainability & Georgetown University's financial operations page
• Press Release: Tar Sand Divestment, June 2018
• Board Resolution on Coal Divestment, June 4, 2015
• Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility (CISR) Policy