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Student Action at San Francisco State Foundation Board Me...

  Students marching and carrying signs outside of the San Francisco State Foundation’s Board meeting on February 5th, 2015 had a slightly different message than most divestment protesters: “Thank You.” The demonstration was a show of student support regarding the Board’s decision in May 2013 to divest from coal and tar sands companies.   Through open and respectful engagement between students, administrators, and the board, San Francisco State became the first public university to make the commitment to divest. The foundation has also voted to look into the option of divesting from all fossil fuel companies in the future. Last month, Robert Nava, President of the SFSU Foundation, spoke at the Intentionally Designed Endowment Forum at Arizona State. He told...

Read More


Living Green

David Levin published an excellent article about Anthony Cortese in the Winter 2015 Edition of the Harvard School of Public Health Magazine. The article describes Tony's passion for the environment and his subsequently extensive environmental career from being one of the first employees of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, to his most recent project, launching the Intentional Endowments Network this past summer.  Read the article on HSPH's website: Living Green. David Levin is a Boston-based science journalist. He can be reached through his website at www.therealdavidlevin.com.   Photo: Kent Dayton/ Harvard Chan  -- On a clear day, the air outside Anthony Cortese’s office in downtown Boston is filled with the unmistakable smell of the ocean—a pungent, brinelike perfume that hangs in the...

Read More


U.S. SIF Trends Report 2014: Why SRI is Here to Stay

Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact (SRI)* investing is here to stay, and is only getting stronger with time. The U.S. SIF Foundation, has been tracking the industry for the past 10 years and recently published their biennial Trends Report highlighting the significant growth and advancement of the industry. According to the study, the total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies increased 76 percent in the past two years, expanding from $3.74 trillion at the start of 2012 to $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014, representing nearly 18 percent of the $36.8 trillion in total assets under management. Furthermore, in the past two years, assets incorporating ESG factors have increased threefold to $4.80 trillion. What is pushing this growth? The...

Read More


The ACUPCC Summit, Risky Business & Higher Education Sust...

Last month Second Nature hosted the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) 2014 Climate Leadership Summit. More than 200 presidents, senior administrators, and sustainability champions from colleges and universities across the country attended.  Among the highlights was a keynote address by Kate Gordon, Executive Director of the Risky Business project, which was spearheaded by Henry Paulson, Michael Bloomberg, and Tom Steyer. She clearly articulated what made this report unique and so important.  First it was a bipartisan effort, that just focused on the facts in terms of what our best science is telling us we can expect in terms of climate impacts in various regions.  To stay out of the political fray around climate change, they did not...

Read More


Fossil Fuels, Investments and the Public Good

Original posting by Terry Link on Possibilitator. Fossil Fuels, Investments and the Public Good | Possibilator by Terry Link, November 24, 2014

Read More


#GenerateChange for a Clean Energy Economy

The EPA Clean Power Plan proposes standards to cut carbon emissions from electric power plants - the single largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S. This plan is a crucial step toward a clean energy economy as it helps the nation become more efficient and gain international leverage while protecting the environment and health of its communities now and for future generations.  Ceres is mobilizing hundreds businesses, investors, and individuals to support the rules before the end of the public comment period on December 1.  Take action now! Sign the petition in support of the Clean Power Plan and join the #Generate Change campaign and help amplify the message that the Clean Power Plan will reduce carbon, create jobs and...

Read More


Passive Equity Strategies for the Low Carbon Investor Web...

The Investor Network on Climate Risk held the Passive Equity Strategies for the Low Carbon Investor Webinar on Thursday, November 13. This webinar featured Thomas Kuh, Executive Director for ESG Indices at MSCI Inc., Sarah Gillman, Chief Financial Officer at Natural Resources Defence Council, and Peter Solli, Parter at Aperio Group. These three panelists presented three different approaches to rules-based, index investing that are available to investors today.  Click here for a recording of the webinar. 

Read More


Boston Carbon Risk Forum a Big Success

The Boston Carbon Risk Forum at Harvard law School in Cambridge, MA on September 29, 2014 was an outstanding event attended by about 150 local and state government, senior academic, investment industry and NGO leaders.  The presentations (available on the website) were among the most informative I have seen on several issues related to aligning endowment investments with creating a healthy, just and sustainable society.   Bob Massie's keynote set the stage for a very engaging day by making the moral, political and financial case for the development of a new economy that is just and sustainable, the importance of government to take serious action climate disruption and how divestment of fossil fuels along with investing using ESG criteria is...

Read More


College & University Endowments and the Principles for Re...

We invite you to join an upcoming webinar to learn about the steps university endowments are taking to address sustainability issues in their investments, and how this fits with their roles as long-term investors.  Signatories of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and other institutions with commitments to climate action and sustainability are increasingly confronting questions related to if and how to better align endowment investment practices with institutional mission, values, and goals. This webinar will provide an overview of the sustainable investing landscape and the spectrum of strategies available. It will highlight the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and offer insights from university representatives who have experience with PRI.  Date: September 16, 2014 Time: 8:30AM PT...

Read More


The Billion Dollar Green Challenge

The Billion Dollar Green Challenge -- an initiative of the Sustainable Endowment Institute that promotes green Revolving Funds (GRFs) on college and university campuses -- was featured on NPR's Marketplace this morning. In the interview, SEI Executive Director, Mark Orlowski, explains how endowments can invest in GRFs as part of their investment strategy without worry about donor restrictions on the funds. Done properly, these investments can help campuses avoid substantial costs by upgrading to more efficient technologies and improving design to lower demand for energy. Over the years, these savings can add up to significant returns on the original investments -- Harvard is saving $5 million a year as a result of their GRF projects.  Listen to the 2 minute interview on Marketplace's...

Read More


The Billion Dollar Green Challenge

The Billion Dollar Green Challenge -- an initiative of the Sustainable Endowment Institute that promotes green Revolving Funds (GRFs) on college and university campuses -- was featured on NPR's Marketplace this morning. In the interview, SEI Executive Director, Mark Orlowski, explains how endowments can invest in GRFs as part of their investment strategy without worry about donor restrictions on the funds. Done properly, these investments can help campuses avoid substantial costs by upgrading to more efficient technologies and improving design to lower demand for energy. Over the years, these savings can add up to significant returns on the original investments -- Harvard is saving $5 million a year as a result of their GRF projects.  Listen to the 2 minute interview on Marketplace's...

Read More


College & University Endowments and the Principles for Re...

We invite you to join an upcoming webinar to learn about the steps university endowments are taking to address sustainability issues in their investments, and how this fits with their roles as long-term investors.  Signatories of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and other institutions with commitments to climate action and sustainability are increasingly confronting questions related to if and how to better align endowment investment practices with institutional mission, values, and goals. This webinar will provide an overview of the sustainable investing landscape and the spectrum of strategies available. It will highlight the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and offer insights from university representatives who have experience with PRI.  Date: September 16, 2014 Time: 8:30AM PT...

Read More


Boston Carbon Risk Forum a Big Success

The Boston Carbon Risk Forum at Harvard law School in Cambridge, MA on September 29, 2014 was an outstanding event attended by about 150 local and state government, senior academic, investment industry and NGO leaders.  The presentations (available on the website) were among the most informative I have seen on several issues related to aligning endowment investments with creating a healthy, just and sustainable society.   Bob Massie's keynote set the stage for a very engaging day by making the moral, political and financial case for the development of a new economy that is just and sustainable, the importance of government to take serious action climate disruption and how divestment of fossil fuels along with investing using ESG criteria is...

Read More


Passive Equity Strategies for the Low Carbon Investor Web...

The Investor Network on Climate Risk held the Passive Equity Strategies for the Low Carbon Investor Webinar on Thursday, November 13. This webinar featured Thomas Kuh, Executive Director for ESG Indices at MSCI Inc., Sarah Gillman, Chief Financial Officer at Natural Resources Defence Council, and Peter Solli, Parter at Aperio Group. These three panelists presented three different approaches to rules-based, index investing that are available to investors today.  Click here for a recording of the webinar. 

Read More


#GenerateChange for a Clean Energy Economy

The EPA Clean Power Plan proposes standards to cut carbon emissions from electric power plants - the single largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S. This plan is a crucial step toward a clean energy economy as it helps the nation become more efficient and gain international leverage while protecting the environment and health of its communities now and for future generations.  Ceres is mobilizing hundreds businesses, investors, and individuals to support the rules before the end of the public comment period on December 1.  Take action now! Sign the petition in support of the Clean Power Plan and join the #Generate Change campaign and help amplify the message that the Clean Power Plan will reduce carbon, create jobs and...

Read More


Fossil Fuels, Investments and the Public Good

Original posting by Terry Link on Possibilitator. Fossil Fuels, Investments and the Public Good | Possibilator by Terry Link, November 24, 2014

Read More


The ACUPCC Summit, Risky Business & Higher Education Sust...

Last month Second Nature hosted the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) 2014 Climate Leadership Summit. More than 200 presidents, senior administrators, and sustainability champions from colleges and universities across the country attended.  Among the highlights was a keynote address by Kate Gordon, Executive Director of the Risky Business project, which was spearheaded by Henry Paulson, Michael Bloomberg, and Tom Steyer. She clearly articulated what made this report unique and so important.  First it was a bipartisan effort, that just focused on the facts in terms of what our best science is telling us we can expect in terms of climate impacts in various regions.  To stay out of the political fray around climate change, they did not...

Read More


U.S. SIF Trends Report 2014: Why SRI is Here to Stay

Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact (SRI)* investing is here to stay, and is only getting stronger with time. The U.S. SIF Foundation, has been tracking the industry for the past 10 years and recently published their biennial Trends Report highlighting the significant growth and advancement of the industry. According to the study, the total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies increased 76 percent in the past two years, expanding from $3.74 trillion at the start of 2012 to $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014, representing nearly 18 percent of the $36.8 trillion in total assets under management. Furthermore, in the past two years, assets incorporating ESG factors have increased threefold to $4.80 trillion. What is pushing this growth? The...

Read More


Living Green

David Levin published an excellent article about Anthony Cortese in the Winter 2015 Edition of the Harvard School of Public Health Magazine. The article describes Tony's passion for the environment and his subsequently extensive environmental career from being one of the first employees of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, to his most recent project, launching the Intentional Endowments Network this past summer.  Read the article on HSPH's website: Living Green. David Levin is a Boston-based science journalist. He can be reached through his website at www.therealdavidlevin.com.   Photo: Kent Dayton/ Harvard Chan  -- On a clear day, the air outside Anthony Cortese’s office in downtown Boston is filled with the unmistakable smell of the ocean—a pungent, brinelike perfume that hangs in the...

Read More


Student Action at San Francisco State Foundation Board Me...

  Students marching and carrying signs outside of the San Francisco State Foundation’s Board meeting on February 5th, 2015 had a slightly different message than most divestment protesters: “Thank You.” The demonstration was a show of student support regarding the Board’s decision in May 2013 to divest from coal and tar sands companies.   Through open and respectful engagement between students, administrators, and the board, San Francisco State became the first public university to make the commitment to divest. The foundation has also voted to look into the option of divesting from all fossil fuel companies in the future. Last month, Robert Nava, President of the SFSU Foundation, spoke at the Intentionally Designed Endowment Forum at Arizona State. He told...

Read More


#GenerateChange for a Clean Energy Economy

The EPA Clean Power Plan proposes standards to cut carbon emissions from electric power plants - the single largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S. This plan is a crucial step toward a clean energy economy as it helps the nation become more efficient and gain international leverage while protecting the environment and health of its communities now and for future generations.  Ceres is mobilizing hundreds businesses, investors, and individuals to support the rules before the end of the public comment period on December 1.  Take action now! Sign the petition in support of the Clean Power Plan and join the #Generate Change campaign and help amplify the message that the Clean Power Plan will reduce carbon, create jobs and...

Read More


Boston Carbon Risk Forum a Big Success

The Boston Carbon Risk Forum at Harvard law School in Cambridge, MA on September 29, 2014 was an outstanding event attended by about 150 local and state government, senior academic, investment industry and NGO leaders.  The presentations (available on the website) were among the most informative I have seen on several issues related to aligning endowment investments with creating a healthy, just and sustainable society.   Bob Massie's keynote set the stage for a very engaging day by making the moral, political and financial case for the development of a new economy that is just and sustainable, the importance of government to take serious action climate disruption and how divestment of fossil fuels along with investing using ESG criteria is...

Read More


College & University Endowments and the Principles for Re...

We invite you to join an upcoming webinar to learn about the steps university endowments are taking to address sustainability issues in their investments, and how this fits with their roles as long-term investors.  Signatories of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and other institutions with commitments to climate action and sustainability are increasingly confronting questions related to if and how to better align endowment investment practices with institutional mission, values, and goals. This webinar will provide an overview of the sustainable investing landscape and the spectrum of strategies available. It will highlight the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and offer insights from university representatives who have experience with PRI.  Date: September 16, 2014 Time: 8:30AM PT...

Read More


Fossil Fuels, Investments and the Public Good

Original posting by Terry Link on Possibilitator. Fossil Fuels, Investments and the Public Good | Possibilator by Terry Link, November 24, 2014

Read More


Living Green

David Levin published an excellent article about Anthony Cortese in the Winter 2015 Edition of the Harvard School of Public Health Magazine. The article describes Tony's passion for the environment and his subsequently extensive environmental career from being one of the first employees of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, to his most recent project, launching the Intentional Endowments Network this past summer.  Read the article on HSPH's website: Living Green. David Levin is a Boston-based science journalist. He can be reached through his website at www.therealdavidlevin.com.   Photo: Kent Dayton/ Harvard Chan  -- On a clear day, the air outside Anthony Cortese’s office in downtown Boston is filled with the unmistakable smell of the ocean—a pungent, brinelike perfume that hangs in the...

Read More


Passive Equity Strategies for the Low Carbon Investor Web...

The Investor Network on Climate Risk held the Passive Equity Strategies for the Low Carbon Investor Webinar on Thursday, November 13. This webinar featured Thomas Kuh, Executive Director for ESG Indices at MSCI Inc., Sarah Gillman, Chief Financial Officer at Natural Resources Defence Council, and Peter Solli, Parter at Aperio Group. These three panelists presented three different approaches to rules-based, index investing that are available to investors today.  Click here for a recording of the webinar. 

Read More


Student Action at San Francisco State Foundation Board Me...

  Students marching and carrying signs outside of the San Francisco State Foundation’s Board meeting on February 5th, 2015 had a slightly different message than most divestment protesters: “Thank You.” The demonstration was a show of student support regarding the Board’s decision in May 2013 to divest from coal and tar sands companies.   Through open and respectful engagement between students, administrators, and the board, San Francisco State became the first public university to make the commitment to divest. The foundation has also voted to look into the option of divesting from all fossil fuel companies in the future. Last month, Robert Nava, President of the SFSU Foundation, spoke at the Intentionally Designed Endowment Forum at Arizona State. He told...

Read More


The ACUPCC Summit, Risky Business & Higher Education Sust...

Last month Second Nature hosted the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) 2014 Climate Leadership Summit. More than 200 presidents, senior administrators, and sustainability champions from colleges and universities across the country attended.  Among the highlights was a keynote address by Kate Gordon, Executive Director of the Risky Business project, which was spearheaded by Henry Paulson, Michael Bloomberg, and Tom Steyer. She clearly articulated what made this report unique and so important.  First it was a bipartisan effort, that just focused on the facts in terms of what our best science is telling us we can expect in terms of climate impacts in various regions.  To stay out of the political fray around climate change, they did not...

Read More


The Billion Dollar Green Challenge

The Billion Dollar Green Challenge -- an initiative of the Sustainable Endowment Institute that promotes green Revolving Funds (GRFs) on college and university campuses -- was featured on NPR's Marketplace this morning. In the interview, SEI Executive Director, Mark Orlowski, explains how endowments can invest in GRFs as part of their investment strategy without worry about donor restrictions on the funds. Done properly, these investments can help campuses avoid substantial costs by upgrading to more efficient technologies and improving design to lower demand for energy. Over the years, these savings can add up to significant returns on the original investments -- Harvard is saving $5 million a year as a result of their GRF projects.  Listen to the 2 minute interview on Marketplace's...

Read More


U.S. SIF Trends Report 2014: Why SRI is Here to Stay

Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact (SRI)* investing is here to stay, and is only getting stronger with time. The U.S. SIF Foundation, has been tracking the industry for the past 10 years and recently published their biennial Trends Report highlighting the significant growth and advancement of the industry. According to the study, the total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies increased 76 percent in the past two years, expanding from $3.74 trillion at the start of 2012 to $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014, representing nearly 18 percent of the $36.8 trillion in total assets under management. Furthermore, in the past two years, assets incorporating ESG factors have increased threefold to $4.80 trillion. What is pushing this growth? The...

Read More


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