Why Pitzer College Said Good-bye to Fossil-Fuel Investments
Don Gould, trustee and chair of the investment committee at Pitzer College, published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education the other day outlining their rationale for divesting from fossil fuels. He shares their responses to some of the most common concerns regarding divestment, including those related to: Fiduciary duty & financial performance Impact on fossil fuel companies Hypocrisy of continuing to use fossil fuels Sacrificing investment returns Commingled funds Politicizing the endowment Regardless of your views on divestment, the piece is well worth the read. It is available here.
The Fossil-Fuel-Free Portfolio (via State Street Global A...
Chris McKnett, Head of ESG Investments at State Street Global Advisors wrote the following article: The Fossil-Fuel-Free Portfolio (pdf), outlining a few of the options and scenarios investors might consider related to climate risk and fossil fuel divestment. This excerpt provides a review of climate policies around the world, the 'carbon budget' and stranded asset risk, and a spectrum of the carbon intensity of major energy sources.
Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in t...
A high-level, bi-partisan group of leaders from business, finance, academia, and government released the Risky Business report today. The group is co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg, Hank Paulson, and Tom Steyer, and the Risk Committee membership includes University of Miami President Donna Shalala, former US Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, Former US Senator Olympia Snowe, among others. They are calling on American investors and business leaders to "get in the game" to minimize the risks climate change poses to our businesses, communities, the economy, and our way of life. On Sunday, Henry Paulson published an opinion piece in the New York Times ahead of the report's launch, titled "The Coming Climate Crash: Lessons for Climate Change in the 2008 Recession."...
Values and Value
The following is an op-ed piece written by Susan Gary, Professor of Law at the University of Oregon, and originally published on April 27, 2014 in the Eugene Register Guard. -- The recent University of Oregon student vote on divestment raised the question of whether the University of Oregon Foundation should remove investments in fossil fuel companies from its portfolio. If the goal is to take action to address climate change, the vote focused on the wrong thing. Simply screening out the stocks of certain companies is not likely to have a substantial impact on those companies, and doing so may result in negative effects on investment performance. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing (also called impact investing) is a better...
The Intentionally Designed Endowment – A Primer
What is an “intentionally designed endowment”? On April 3-4, 2014 Second Nature and Hampshire College – with support from a high caliber Steering Committee – convened a group of representatives from endowed institutions and the finance industry to explore this question. We developed a primer for participants to establish a baseline understanding of key issues related to aligning investment practices with institutional values. It provides a high-level overview of sustainability investing, including a brief history, and a select list of key resources and relevant organizations. Any non-profit administrator or trustee with fiduciary responsibility or involved with investment policies should be familiar with this rapidly evolving field: Intentionally Designed Endowment | Primer While we are all aware of the fossil fuel...
The Intentionally Designed Endowment – A Primer
What is an “intentionally designed endowment”? On April 3-4, 2014 Second Nature and Hampshire College – with support from a high caliber Steering Committee – convened a group of representatives from endowed institutions and the finance industry to explore this question. We developed a primer for participants to establish a baseline understanding of key issues related to aligning investment practices with institutional values. It provides a high-level overview of sustainability investing, including a brief history, and a select list of key resources and relevant organizations. Any non-profit administrator or trustee with fiduciary responsibility or involved with investment policies should be familiar with this rapidly evolving field: Intentionally Designed Endowment | Primer While we are all aware of the fossil fuel...
Values and Value
The following is an op-ed piece written by Susan Gary, Professor of Law at the University of Oregon, and originally published on April 27, 2014 in the Eugene Register Guard. -- The recent University of Oregon student vote on divestment raised the question of whether the University of Oregon Foundation should remove investments in fossil fuel companies from its portfolio. If the goal is to take action to address climate change, the vote focused on the wrong thing. Simply screening out the stocks of certain companies is not likely to have a substantial impact on those companies, and doing so may result in negative effects on investment performance. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing (also called impact investing) is a better...
Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in t...
A high-level, bi-partisan group of leaders from business, finance, academia, and government released the Risky Business report today. The group is co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg, Hank Paulson, and Tom Steyer, and the Risk Committee membership includes University of Miami President Donna Shalala, former US Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, Former US Senator Olympia Snowe, among others. They are calling on American investors and business leaders to "get in the game" to minimize the risks climate change poses to our businesses, communities, the economy, and our way of life. On Sunday, Henry Paulson published an opinion piece in the New York Times ahead of the report's launch, titled "The Coming Climate Crash: Lessons for Climate Change in the 2008 Recession."...
The Fossil-Fuel-Free Portfolio (via State Street Global A...
Chris McKnett, Head of ESG Investments at State Street Global Advisors wrote the following article: The Fossil-Fuel-Free Portfolio (pdf), outlining a few of the options and scenarios investors might consider related to climate risk and fossil fuel divestment. This excerpt provides a review of climate policies around the world, the 'carbon budget' and stranded asset risk, and a spectrum of the carbon intensity of major energy sources.
Why Pitzer College Said Good-bye to Fossil-Fuel Investments
Don Gould, trustee and chair of the investment committee at Pitzer College, published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education the other day outlining their rationale for divesting from fossil fuels. He shares their responses to some of the most common concerns regarding divestment, including those related to: Fiduciary duty & financial performance Impact on fossil fuel companies Hypocrisy of continuing to use fossil fuels Sacrificing investment returns Commingled funds Politicizing the endowment Regardless of your views on divestment, the piece is well worth the read. It is available here.
Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in t...
A high-level, bi-partisan group of leaders from business, finance, academia, and government released the Risky Business report today. The group is co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg, Hank Paulson, and Tom Steyer, and the Risk Committee membership includes University of Miami President Donna Shalala, former US Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, Former US Senator Olympia Snowe, among others. They are calling on American investors and business leaders to "get in the game" to minimize the risks climate change poses to our businesses, communities, the economy, and our way of life. On Sunday, Henry Paulson published an opinion piece in the New York Times ahead of the report's launch, titled "The Coming Climate Crash: Lessons for Climate Change in the 2008 Recession."...
The Fossil-Fuel-Free Portfolio (via State Street Global A...
Chris McKnett, Head of ESG Investments at State Street Global Advisors wrote the following article: The Fossil-Fuel-Free Portfolio (pdf), outlining a few of the options and scenarios investors might consider related to climate risk and fossil fuel divestment. This excerpt provides a review of climate policies around the world, the 'carbon budget' and stranded asset risk, and a spectrum of the carbon intensity of major energy sources.
The Intentionally Designed Endowment – A Primer
What is an “intentionally designed endowment”? On April 3-4, 2014 Second Nature and Hampshire College – with support from a high caliber Steering Committee – convened a group of representatives from endowed institutions and the finance industry to explore this question. We developed a primer for participants to establish a baseline understanding of key issues related to aligning investment practices with institutional values. It provides a high-level overview of sustainability investing, including a brief history, and a select list of key resources and relevant organizations. Any non-profit administrator or trustee with fiduciary responsibility or involved with investment policies should be familiar with this rapidly evolving field: Intentionally Designed Endowment | Primer While we are all aware of the fossil fuel...
Values and Value
The following is an op-ed piece written by Susan Gary, Professor of Law at the University of Oregon, and originally published on April 27, 2014 in the Eugene Register Guard. -- The recent University of Oregon student vote on divestment raised the question of whether the University of Oregon Foundation should remove investments in fossil fuel companies from its portfolio. If the goal is to take action to address climate change, the vote focused on the wrong thing. Simply screening out the stocks of certain companies is not likely to have a substantial impact on those companies, and doing so may result in negative effects on investment performance. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing (also called impact investing) is a better...
Why Pitzer College Said Good-bye to Fossil-Fuel Investments
Don Gould, trustee and chair of the investment committee at Pitzer College, published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education the other day outlining their rationale for divesting from fossil fuels. He shares their responses to some of the most common concerns regarding divestment, including those related to: Fiduciary duty & financial performance Impact on fossil fuel companies Hypocrisy of continuing to use fossil fuels Sacrificing investment returns Commingled funds Politicizing the endowment Regardless of your views on divestment, the piece is well worth the read. It is available here.