On April 28, 2017, the University of Oregon held “Investing in the Age of Climate Change.”

Organized by students, faculty, staff engaged in sustainability issues on campus, and the University of Oregon Foundation, the forum tackled the question of how climate change is affecting businesses and investors. The forum was videotaped and is now posted at this link:

The nine videos posted track the speakers throughout the day: http://media.uoregon.edu/channel/archives/category/office-of-sustainability

Steve Mital, UO Director of Sustainability, Quinn Haaga, President of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, and Clay Hurand, UO student activist, started things off with introductions to the forum.

Paul Slovak, UO Psychology, provided a psychologist’s perspective on understanding risk. Susan Gary, UO Law, discussed fiduciary responsibilities for those who make investment decisions for others and explained investment strategies that use environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Jay Namyet, CIO of the UO Foundation, and James Shephard, Chair of the UO Foundation, explored how the Foundation invests and its success with using ESG factors in analyzing risks and opportunities.

Max Fleisher, UO MBA student, introduced the four finalist teams from the Impact Investing Pitch Competition who proposed ideas for consideration by the UO Foundation. University President Michael Schill introduced the keynote speaker, Kate Gordon, of the Paulson Institute, who described the Risky Business Project’s research analyzing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change. Dave Chen, Founder and Chair of the Equilibrium Capital Group, explained how investment managers manage climate risk. Emilie Mazzacurati , Founder and CEO of Four Twenty Seven, explained the need for climate-competent boards of directors. Stephen Brence, UO Philosophy, David Lewis, Consultant, Ethnohistory Research, and John Bellamy Foster, UO Sociology, explored our ethical responsibilities related to the environment.