New IEN members are invited to register for our upcoming new members Community Conversation scheduled for May 26 at 1pm ET to learn more about the network, connect with other new members, and to collaboratively build our community of sustainable investing.

In this week's news, Bowdoin College launched a plan for a fossil fuel-free campus by 2042, the US SEC has extended the period for public comment on climate risk proposals to June 17, 2022, and we invite you to continue showing your support for a consistent, comparable, climate change disclosure by signing on this statement.

Event details coming soon!

We’re proud to announce Bard College and Virginia Wesleyan University as winners of the semester-long 2022 IEN Student Corporation Engagement Competition. The competition focused on sustainable investing and environmental, social and governance shareholder advocacy.

In this week’s news, UMaine System commits to divest its $15.5M from the fossil fuel industry by 2030, and we continue to encourage you to support the climate change disclosure rule made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by signing on this statement  

Learn more and register here

In the growing effort to support the new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rule, we invite you to sign on this statement as an indication of your support for a consistent, comparable, and decision-useful information climate change disclosure. You’re also welcome to use this email template from ICCR to encourage companies you have a working relationship with to support the proposed rule or be neutral on the rulemaking proposal. 

In this week's news, Harvard pledges $100 million to redress ties to slavery by supporting descendants and Native communities and collaborating with Black colleges and universities. An action step Felicia Davis, IEN Steering Committee Member and Senior Adviser HBCU Green Fund recommended in the IEN blog in 2020 as a way America’s elite colleges can address the question of reparations.

Register Here

Tune in on May 4th at 9:30 AM ET for a webinar on Ways Not for Profits organizations Can Make Impact. 

Advancing the mission of Not for Profit organizations can be helped by the growing field of impact investments. Impact investing allows investors to fund sustainable solutions that not only address the most pressing needs of our time but also enhance investors’ ability to meet their financial objectives. 

This webinar will focus on:

- The case for impact investing, including its ability to connect capital to the greatest sustainability challenges

- How has the impact investment opportunity set evolved?

- What are some of the considerations to building an impact portfolio to ensure mission alignment and achieving financial returns.

- Key insights into their journey to implementing impact investments in to their portfolio and the challenges they encountered from concept to implementation.

Speakers:

• Georges Dyer, Executive Director, Intentional Endowments Network. (Moderator)
• Beth Sirull, President and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego (JCFSD)
• Susanne Bregy, Head of Impact Investing at Phineo gAG
• Amy Ridge, Partner, Mercer Alternative

Register Here

Today, we are reminded of the need to reconnect and protect our environment by making more sustainable life decisions.

Celebrate Earth Day with us at IEN by registering for this upcoming webinar on ways to invest in a food system that can restore and repair our relationship with the planet. And join us on April 29 at 3:00 p.m. ET to support the next generation of sustainable investors finalists as they deliver their final presentations at the IEN Student Corporate Engagement competition finals. The Winner of the competition will be announced live.

Learn more and register here

It was inspiring to see many of you at the 2022 Higher Education Leadership summit last week! Summit registrants can now watch the Summit sessions recordings here. While you're at it, help us plan for the 2023 Summit by completing this brief anonymous 2022 Summit Feedback Survey.

In this week's news, we invite you to sign on this investor Letter in support of the proposed rules put forth by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to enhance and standardize climate-related corporate disclosures.

On different note, we’d like to inform you that our virtual office will be closed Monday April 18, 2022 for IEN team to take well deserved rest after hosting a successful summit last week!

It has been inspiring and exciting having many of you online this week at the 2022 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit! We've been busy ensuring that Summit participants have a great experience and haven't followed the news cycle closely this week

We'll definitely be back to our regular news round-up next Friday, but in the meantime, we are pleased to share this special 2022 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit edition. For those that missed some sessions during the summit, recordings of every session are now available on the Airmeet platform for registrants. You can access the recordings here.

The 2022 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit begins next week Tuesday April 5 - 8, 2022. Take a moment to secure your spot at the premier gathering of higher education leaders committed to addressing inequality and the climate crisis today. Register here

In this week’s news, we invite you to Sign on this investor letter in support of the proposed rules put forth by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to enhance and standardize climate-related corporate disclosures. Learn more and sign here

Leaders in the global shipping industry have launched the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition to accelerate the transition of shipping industry toward net-zero GHG emissions and address global climate change. Purus Marine, established by IEN member EnTrust Global, is one of the founding members of the coalition.

We are pleased to support the ESG for Impact Conference Scholarship. An initiative that aims at bringing qualified young people into the ESG/SRI community to ensure that the commitment, and competence of the SRI/ESG movement be sustained into the next generation.The 2022 Scholarship Program is open through June 15th. Learn more here.

In this week’s news, we invite you to take a look back at what we accomplished last year through our 2021 Impact Report and remember to register for the 2022 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit before it’s too late. Register Today!

Take a look back at what the Intentional Endowments Network accomplished last year through the 2021 IEN Impact Report. While we grapple with global challenges, the endowment community continues to advance sustainable investment practices and strategies.

We’re elated to announce Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, Director of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota as one of the 2022 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit keynote speakers. Megan will enlighten summit participants on ways higher education can effectively engage with indigenous communities beyond land acknowledgement. Learn more and register here

In this week's news, we continue to celebrate women’s rights month and watch the ongoing invasion of Ukraine with sorrow. We also share best practices and priorities investors need to consider when formulating their companies' views on political, social and moral issues. 

We’re thrilled to welcome Paris Prince as IEN's Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) and Harrison Ungar as Program Manager - Sustainable Investing. We’re grateful to have these new additions to the team and look forward to our work together.

In this week’s news, we invite you to take a look at these women who are shaping the future of finance and ESG in observance of Women's’ Rights Month, and invite you to join us at the 2022 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit to learn how to effectively diversify our financial system. You’re welcome to join us as an individual, Host Institution or sponsor.

Paris Prince

Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI)

[email protected]

The 2022 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit agenda is now live. Join us virtually on April 5 - 8, 2022 to learn how we can invest for an equitable, low-carbon, regenerative economy. Register and/or become a summit sponsor here

In this week’s news, we share UVIMCO Investor Responsibility Framework that outlines the steps the organization is taking to build on its commitment to investing Virginia University funds sustainably, and the newly released IPCC special report on climate change impacts.

Two Years After Sustainable Investing Act, IEN Study Shows the U of I System Flagship Sustainable Investment Returned 47% on Annualized Basis, Outperforming Benchmarks.

CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 2, 2022 – U.S. college campuses are at the forefront of a major investing sea change, and the University of Illinois (U of I) System is a leader in exemplifying how sustainable endowment investments can outperform traditional ones, according to a new study by the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN). The study details how two years after establishing a program to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions, an initial allocation of $160 million has grown to $252 million, returning 47% on an annualized basis and outperforming its benchmark (Russell 3000) by 1.2%. 

In 2020, U of I System President Tim Killeen announced the Empowering Excellence: Financial Stewardship through Responsible Investing program. The program was formed based on the U of I System’s Guiding Principles and the Illinois Sustainable Investing Act after engaging with students, faculty, alumni and other key stakeholders such as IEN. 

“The University of Illinois System is a model colleges and universities can consider as pressure from students, faculty and alumni mounts to clean up endowment portfolios,” said Georges Dyer, executive director of the Intentional Endowments Network. “Not only is it the right thing to do for people and the planet, but the U of I System shows that it makes good financial sense as well. It’s my hope that other institutions follow Illinois’ lead and begin to create sustainable value for their endowments and future generations.”  

The University of Illinois System’s program includes six core initiatives across asset classes:

seeding an ESG Insights strategy managed by BlackRock, active ownership, sustainable farming practices, private market impact funds, industry advocacy and student engagement. The program also builds on the U of I System’s long-standing commitment to increase allocations to diverse-owned and -led investment management firms. The new IEN report takes a closer look at each of the core initiatives, concluding that the program “provides a compelling approach for endowment leadership on mission aligned investing.”

“Our process has shown that there are opportunities to move toward mission-aligned investing across the portfolio in ways that protect and enhance financial returns,” said Geri Melchiorre, senior director of investments for the University of Illinois System. “We are pleased to share our progress to date in this new report from IEN as we continue to engage with our students and the broader community on these topics.”

The U of I System’s process provides another example of the many ways endowments can follow the steps laid out in IEN’s Intentionally Designed Endowment Roadmap to educate and learn, build consensus, develop policies, implement those policies and communicate to stakeholders. The system’s process also provides one model of how endowments can design sustainable investing strategies to protect capital, enhance returns, and contribute to a more healthy, just and sustainable economy.

IEN’s new publication comes on the heels of two other annual reports from endowments on their sustainable-investing progress. Arizona State University published its inaugural Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact Investing Report, highlighting ASU’s commitment to a net-zero portfolio, integrating justice, diversity, equity and inclusion (JEDI) considerations into the investment process, and progress on shareholder engagement on ESG issues. Separately, Harvard Management Company released its second annual Climate Report, providing updates on its progress toward meeting a net-zero portfolio goal by 2050.  

“No two endowments will approach their sustainable investing journey in exactly the same way,” added IEN’s Dyer. “The U of I System’s program shows how this can be done working through its investment managers by seeding the BlackRock strategy and leveraging unique attributes of its asset pool by advancing sustainable farmland practices. Sharing the journey so far is a valuable contribution to IEN’s peer-learning network.” 

ABOUT

The Intentional Endowments Network is a peer-learning network of colleges, universities and other mission-driven institutional investors working together to achieve their risk and return objectives through investment actions that create a thriving, sustainable economy. IEN has more than 165 network members including endowments, asset managers, investment consultants, nonprofit partners and individuals. www.intentionalendowments.org 

The University of Illinois System is a world leader in research and discovery, and the largest educational institution in the state with more than 94,000 students, about 26,000 full-time equivalent faculty and staff, and universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. The U of I System awards more than 24,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees annually.

CONTACT:   Alex Frank, (703) 276-3264 and [email protected].