Khalid Cannon

  • published Columbia University in Endowment Snapshots 2017-07-18 09:52:43 -0400

    Columbia University

    Columbia University 

    Endowment Value: $14.35 billion (June 2021)

    Columbia University is a private institution located in New York City. The Columbia Investment Management Company (IMC) manages the University's endowment. Columbia established the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (ASCRI) in March 2000. The Committee's purpose is to advise the University Trustees on ethical and social issues that arise in the management of the University's endowment. To ensure that the Committee is broadly representative of the University community, its twelve voting members are drawn in equal proportion from students, faculty, and alumni of the University.

    The ACSRI maintains comprehensive guidelines for the endowment’s socially responsible investment proxy voting that includes positions on a variety of issues. According to The University’s most recent STARS report, Columbia currently performs negative screenings for tobacco producers/manufacturers, private prison operators, companies deriving more than 35% of their revenue in thermal coal production, and those implicated in human rights abuses. 

    Columbia University houses the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), which is a joint center of Columbia Law School and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The CCSI is the only university-based applied research center and forum dedicated to the study, practice, and discussion of sustainable investment.

    Columbia University is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

    • AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
    • ACUPCC: No
    • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
    • CDP: Yes
    • Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
    • Divestment Goal: Yes, divestment from coal & in oil and gas companies
    • INCR: No
    • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
    • Sustainable Investment Fund: No
    • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
    • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

     Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources from Columbia University:

  • published University of Ottawa in Endowment Snapshots 2017-06-28 12:49:01 -0400

    University of Ottawa

    University of Ottawa

    Endowment Value: $338.8 million CAD (2021)

    The University of Ottawa is a public university located in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada. Approximately 42,500 students attend the university. The Finance and Treasury Committee manages the endowment.

    As a signatory of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Montreal Carbon Pledge, the University of Ottawa has “has made a public commitment to make investment decisions that consider ESG issues while taking appropriate steps to meet its fiduciary responsibilities to optimize investment returns”.

    In April 2016, University of Ottawa’s Finance and Treasury Committee released a 19-page report describing the University’s response to addressing climate change. The report recognizes the role of the student-led Fossil Free UOttawa divestment campaign in sparking a debate about the role the University should play in the fight against global warming.

    While UOttawa is currently not pursuing divestment, uOttawa created a separate Clean Innovations Fund and provided the initial seed capital for the long-term portfolio. uOttawa is also taking considerable action towards reducing its carbon footprint across campus facilities.

    In June 2020, uOttawa joined fifteen other Canadian universities in signing a charter committing to increased efforts to address the climate crisis. Signatories of the charter pledge to adopt an SRI investing policy, regularly calculate the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios, publicly share progress and results in achieving sustainability goals, and evaluate fund managers based on their compliance with the guidelines set forth in the charter.

    The University of Ottawa is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:

    • AASHE STARS: Yes, Silver
    • ACUPCC: No
    • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
    • CDP: No
    • Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
    • Divestment Goal: Yes, partial
    • INCR: No
    • Montreal Carbon Pledge: Yes
    • Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
    • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
    • Principles for Responsible Investment: Yes

    Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources:

  • published University of Oregon in Endowment Snapshots 2017-06-19 09:44:57 -0400

    University of Oregon

    University of Oregon

    Endowment Value: $1.32 billion (2021)

    The University of Oregon is a public research university located in Eugene, Oregon. The University of Oregon Foundation manages the endowment and is overseen by the Board of Trustees.

    According to the Board’s Statement of Investment Principles, “The UO encourages its advisors and managers to include ESG factors in their analytical processes... [but ESG criteria] are only one factor in analyses and should not be used as exclusionary screens to eliminate specific entities or sectors from consideration.”

    In the Fall of 2016, the UO Foundation announced it would begin transitioning away from fossil fuel investments. "We believe that green-energy initiatives — such as solar and wind power, sustainable forestry, and organic farming — will steadily replace investments in carbon-based fuel sources, and we do not have any investments in coal," said UO Foundation Chief Investment Officer, Jay Namyet.

    Following this announcement, OU students and faculty organized a forum titled "Investing in the Age of Climate Change” to discuss the impact of climate change on businesses and investors. The panel took place in April of 2017.

    The University of Oregon is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

    Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources:

     

Khalid Cannon
Khalid Cannon

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