How Hampshire Invests
How Hampshire Invests By Jonathan Lash, President, Hampshire College There is growing debate — much of it driven by students — about the obligation of mission-driven nonprofit organizations to consider non-economic issues in their choice of investments. Society exempts us from taxation because we serve public purposes. Donors support us because they believe that doing so contributes to the common good. Each institution has its own mission, values, culture, and traditions to consider in making decisions about fiscal responsibility and moral obligation, but it is difficult to understand why an institution would refuse even to discuss the issues. For those of us engaged in education, this is no minor question: College and university endowments total more than $346 billion —...
Should MIT Divest? A Debate on Fossil Fuel Investment
Yesterday, Tony Cortese, a Principal of the Intentional Endowments Network, moderated a debate on whether or not MIT should divest of fossil fuels. Click here or on the image below to watch the full program on the MIT site. A description of the event and speakers from MIT's website: Join this event of the MIT Climate Change Conversation to learn about different facets of divestment from fossil fuel companies and explore whether MIT should divest its endowment as part of its response to climate change. Six prominent voices in the dialogue on climate change and energy will be staged as two teams that present PRO-divestment and AGAINST-divestment arguments in a classic debate format. The discussion will provide a nuanced view of...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
#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...
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.
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...
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...
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.
#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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
Should MIT Divest? A Debate on Fossil Fuel Investment
Yesterday, Tony Cortese, a Principal of the Intentional Endowments Network, moderated a debate on whether or not MIT should divest of fossil fuels. Click here or on the image below to watch the full program on the MIT site. A description of the event and speakers from MIT's website: Join this event of the MIT Climate Change Conversation to learn about different facets of divestment from fossil fuel companies and explore whether MIT should divest its endowment as part of its response to climate change. Six prominent voices in the dialogue on climate change and energy will be staged as two teams that present PRO-divestment and AGAINST-divestment arguments in a classic debate format. The discussion will provide a nuanced view of...
How Hampshire Invests
How Hampshire Invests By Jonathan Lash, President, Hampshire College There is growing debate — much of it driven by students — about the obligation of mission-driven nonprofit organizations to consider non-economic issues in their choice of investments. Society exempts us from taxation because we serve public purposes. Donors support us because they believe that doing so contributes to the common good. Each institution has its own mission, values, culture, and traditions to consider in making decisions about fiscal responsibility and moral obligation, but it is difficult to understand why an institution would refuse even to discuss the issues. For those of us engaged in education, this is no minor question: College and university endowments total more than $346 billion —...
#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...
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...
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
How Hampshire Invests
How Hampshire Invests By Jonathan Lash, President, Hampshire College There is growing debate — much of it driven by students — about the obligation of mission-driven nonprofit organizations to consider non-economic issues in their choice of investments. Society exempts us from taxation because we serve public purposes. Donors support us because they believe that doing so contributes to the common good. Each institution has its own mission, values, culture, and traditions to consider in making decisions about fiscal responsibility and moral obligation, but it is difficult to understand why an institution would refuse even to discuss the issues. For those of us engaged in education, this is no minor question: College and university endowments total more than $346 billion —...
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...
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.
Should MIT Divest? A Debate on Fossil Fuel Investment
Yesterday, Tony Cortese, a Principal of the Intentional Endowments Network, moderated a debate on whether or not MIT should divest of fossil fuels. Click here or on the image below to watch the full program on the MIT site. A description of the event and speakers from MIT's website: Join this event of the MIT Climate Change Conversation to learn about different facets of divestment from fossil fuel companies and explore whether MIT should divest its endowment as part of its response to climate change. Six prominent voices in the dialogue on climate change and energy will be staged as two teams that present PRO-divestment and AGAINST-divestment arguments in a classic debate format. The discussion will provide a nuanced view of...
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...
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...
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...