From February 2-4, the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) joined over 350 leaders in higher education, sustainable investing, and community engagement at the 2025 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit. Held in Washington, D.C., this year’s convening underscored the urgent need for endowments to advance sustainable and impact investing strategies, ensure long-term institutional financial sustainability, and continue to address systemic risk despite current political headwinds.
IEN’s Strategic Role at the Summit
As a major strategic partner, IEN led eight sessions designed to advance sustainable investing conversations on college and university campuses. The convening kicked off with IEN’s Endowment Sustainability Lab, an interactive workshop that brought together leaders from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and equity-focused partners to explore how institutions can strengthen resilience, drive climate action, and ensure long-term financial sustainability.
Key sessions throughout the Summit tackled some of the most pressing challenges in sustainable investing:
- Climate Leadership Through the Endowment Impact Benchmark (EIB): Panelists shared how endowments and foundations can leverage the EIB to measure, benchmark, and enhance their climate leadership.
- Building Collaborative Partnerships Between Sustainability Staff & Endowment Teams: This discussion emphasized the importance of aligning financial and sustainability goals for long-term impact.
- Net Zero Endowment Portfolios & Just Transition Strategies: Experts unpacked how endowments can commit to Net Zero investing while centering climate justice.
- Roadmap to a Mission-Aligned Endowment: Panelists offered actionable steps for institutions to integrate sustainability into their investment strategies.
Navigating Today’s Changing Landscape
In an era where sustainable investing faces increasing scrutiny, the Summit fostered critical conversations about resilience, coalition-building, and strategic action. As highlighted in The Return of the JEDI session, the fight for racial and economic justice in finance is far from over. Endowments must not only defend their values but also proactively engage with stakeholdersand reclaim the narrative around sustainable and inclusive investing, in line with their fiduciary duty.
Several key takeaways emerged from discussions during the Endowment Sustainability Lab and beyond:
- The Data-Driven Case for DEI and ESG: Research consistently shows that diverse fund managers outperform industry benchmarks. Institutions that fail to diversify their portfolios risk missing out on superior returns and long-term resilience.
- Strategic Clarity for Institutional Success: By staying aligned and reinforcing the financial materiality of ESG and DEI initiatives, institutions can strengthen their investment strategies.
- The Power of Coalition-Building: As the landscape of sustainable investing evolves, it is imperative for endowments, foundations, and service providers to strengthen their networks of support - including continuing to engage as members of The Intentional Endowments Network.
Turning Insights into Action
The 2025 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit reinforced that institutions must move beyond passive commitments and take bold steps to integrate sustainability, racial justice, and financial stewardship into their endowment strategies. The road ahead is complex, but by fostering collaboration, leveraging data, and staying true to long-term financial goals, endowments can play a transformative role in building a just and sustainable future.
As we reflect on the Summit’s insights, we invite you to explore the event photo album and join us in continuing these vital conversations.
We’re excited to continue the conversation at our Virtual Spring Forum, May 5-8th.
The Forum will gather a community of endowment, foundation, and industry leaders for a series of interactive, action-oriented discussions on mitigating risk and identifying opportunity through intentional, rigorous, long-term investments. Sessions will cover various topics related to material environmental and social investment factors and will vary in format - including keynotes, panel conversations, break-out discussions, and facilitated networking. Register for the Virtual Spring Forum today!
View the 2025 Summit Photo Album
Learn more about IEN's 2025 Virtual Spring Summit
