Arizona State University Students Take Top Honors In National Sustainable Investing Contest | IEN

• Amid growing college and university endowment interest in shareholder engagement and ESG-focused investing, students from Arizona State University (ASU) were recognized by a panel of judges as the best among college competitors in the student-focused SIILK Corporate Engagement Competition hosted by the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN).

Warren Wilson College to Vote Proxies With New AS YOU VOTE System | As You Sow

• Warren Wilson College, an IEN member, became one of the first entities, and the first college to sign an agreement with As You Sow and Broadridge Financial Solutions to have As You Vote direct their proxy voting for the remainder of the 2021 season and into the beginning of the 2022 proxy voting season.

Consultants Form Group to Promote Sustainable Investing | Fundfire

• [subscription required] Fourteen U.S. consultants, representing more than $33 trillion in global assets under advisement, have formed a group to “promote and improve” sustainable investment practices across the institutional investment industry, according to a statement from Meketa. See consultant group website here

Higher-Education Investors Introduce Net Zero Endowments Initiative | Fin News

• The IEN Net-Zero Initiative that aims to have 50 endowments adopt a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is once again featured in this article.

ISS ESG

• Founded in 1985, Institutional Shareholder Services empowers investors and companies to build for long-term and sustainable growth by providing high-quality data, analytics, and insight. ISS is a leading provider of corporate governance and responsible investment solutions.

Our members North Sky Capital and Breckinridge Capital Advisor are excited to share their 2021 Impact Report, and 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report respectively.

We are thrilled that the June Climate Action Pursuit virtual gathering will be here soon. As we are getting closer to dive deeper into Climate Action together, we are excited to announce that the June 10th - June 11th Pursuit agenda is now LIVE!

In response to your feedback, we’ve designed these two days of virtual gathering to be more interactive. The June milestone offers you more opportunities to join small groups of conversations with experts on your topic of choice. This pursuit is yours and we want to make sure it continues to provide you with adequate resources to set and advance your climate and equity goals.

• Registration: If you weren’t able to join us during the February kick-off, you can still register between now and June 10th to gain access to the February session recordings and have full access to June, October, and December milestones.
• Sessions: This is the best time to log back into your Sched account to check where you left off last February and sign up for your June sessions of interest before it fills out.
• Sched Tutorial: We’ve put together short video tutorials to help you build your personal schedule and another one on how to create your profile.

IEN Proxy Voting Campaign / Resolution Highlights | IEN

• Racial Equity in the Boardroom Voting Guide MajorityAction asks investors of all sizes to use their proxy voting power to promote racial justice by holding boards accountable across three key areas this year: lobbying and political spending, racial equity auditing and board diversity.
• Shareholder Commons Voting Guide: Here are upcoming votes opportunities from the Shareholder common guide to create value for diversified investors by strengthening the social and environmental systems upon which their portfolios rely.
• JPMorgan Chase —May 18, 2021 o Item 6: Conduct racial justice audit
• State Street —May 19, 2021 o Item 4: Conduct racial justice audit

Sign-On Opportunities

Policy Briefing: SEC Requests Comments on Climate Change Disclosure | PRI

• Consistent, comparable disclosure of ESG information is a top priority for responsible investors and PRI is actively working on a detailed response to the SEC.
  • Fill out PRI survey if you're a PRI signatory by May 21
  • Sign on to Ceres' sign-on letter by May 21
  • Submit your own comment letter by June 14

Sign-On CDP Science-Based Targets Campaign |CDP

• CDP asks investors to play a key role in accelerating the adoption of science-based climate targets in the corporate sector, by becoming a signatory of CDP SBT Campaign before June 30. learn more on the Science Based Targets initiative by joining this webinar open to the public on Tuesday, May 18.

See a list of investor actions on Covid-19, racial justice, and other sign-on opportunities here, including:

• Investor Call for Ambitious Methane Regulation for the Oil and Gas Industry | ICCR & Ceres
• EndowmentWatch Pledge | DAMI
• Sign the Due Diligence 2.0 Commitment | Adasina
• Unmasking Fidelity Campaign | Community Labor United, Muslim Justice League, Asian American Resource Workshop, Political Research Associates, and Resource Generation

Racial Justice Resources | USSIF

• In 2020, US SIF launched a member Racial Justice Task Force after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery prompted renewed attention to the disproportionate violence police inflict against Black Americans and the impacts of COVID-19 were revealed to be particularly devastating to communities of color. This resource page, compiled with input from US SIF’s Racial Justice Task Force, provides information on investing to advance racial justice, organizations working on racial justice, and resources on embedding racial equity in the workplace.

CDP Financial Services Disclosure Report 2020 | CDP

• The CDP report finds that portfolio emissions are over 700x larger than direct emissions - and the risks of inaction are huge. Financial institutions must urgently decarbonize their portfolios, by disclosing the impact of their financing activities, setting science-based targets, and aligning all financing activity with the Paris Agreement.

The Results Are In! France's ACPR Publishes Report of 2020 Pilot Climate Risk Assessment (aka Stress Test) for Participating French Banks and Insurers | Lexicology

• The French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority published a first assessment of financial risks stemming from climate change and the main results of a climate pilot exercise (which many have referred to as a climate risk “stress” test) conducted between July 2020 and April 2021 and covering 9 banking groups and 15 insurance groups (including several public sector financial institutions), together representing 85% of French banks’ total assets and 75% of French insurers’ technical provisions and assets, respectively

Universities Leveraging Shareholder Power to Promote Climate Action | AUAU

• With the climate crisis now at our doorstep, several universities in Canada have decided to turn up the heat on unsustainable businesses with a “money talks” approach. The University Network for Investor Engagement, a joint effort by 11 universities across the country to leverage their collective shareholder power to compel businesses in which they invest to operate more sustainably. The initiative advocates for businesses in the universities’ investment portfolios to reduce their emissions in line with the 2016 Paris Agreement on climate change.

ASU’s Net Zero Portfolio Policy | ASU

• ASU’s net-zero portfolio policy is has been made available online.

Amazon Raises $1 Billion Sustainable Bond for Climate, Social Causes | Reuters

• Amazon.com Inc issued its first sustainability bond, raising $1 billion to invest in renewable energy, clean transport, greener buildings and affordable housing as asset managers come under pressure from their investors to advance environmental, social and governance causes.

Global Asset Managers Call for Uniform Climate Reporting Metrics | IEEFA

• Global asset managers, tired of dealing with multiple regimes for disclosing climate and environment-related risks, say governments need to establish a uniform, yet simple, metric for reporting that will drive investments for achieving net-zero carbon goals.

Three key ESG Trends Advisors Need to Be Aware of | IE

• The concept of stewardship is gaining prominence among investors in Canada and globally, but what exactly does it mean in practice?This article provides a quick overview of three big issues in RI that every advisor should know about: stewardship, impact measurement and net zero.

Consultants Form Group to Promote Sustainable Investing | Fundfire

• [subscription required] Fourteen U.S. consultants, representing more than $33 trillion in global assets under advisement, have formed a group to “promote and improve” sustainable investment practices across the institutional investment industry, according to a statement from Meketa. See consultant group website here

Plans With ESG Options See Larger Contribution Rates | PlanSponsor

• Ninety percent of participants who are aware of environmental, social and governance options in their plan’s lineup say they invest in them. The survey equally found that 37% of DC plan participants said they are offered ESG-related investment options by their employer, while 40% said they did not know.

Invesco ETF Chief Seeks Disruptive, Innovative Investments For Best ETFs | Investors

• Invesco's global head of ETFs and indexed strategies Anna Paglia says her goal is to crack the code to provide clients with the best outcome possible as she's pursuing the most disruptive and innovative investments available, and creating some of the best ETFs including the suite of QQQ ETFs in the process.

The Increasing Role of ESG Investments in the Race to Zero | Arabian Business

• The biggest indicator of the importance of environmental, social, and corporate governance investments is that their total market value will reach $53 trillion within the next five years – a colossal sum more than the combined GDP of the USA, UK, China and Germany.

Why Your Fund Manager Needs to be Considering More than Just Alpha | Livewise

• Developments in sustainable investing require the fund manager of the future to adapt yet again: To integrate material ESG factors to protect their client's portfolio. This requires a change in mindset for today’s portfolio manager. To be fit for the future, he or she needs to know more than just how to maximise alpha.

Read the latest observations on sustainable business trends from Greenbiz:

• The Link Between Net Zero and Supply Chain Innovation
• Navigating Internal Politics to ‘Get It Done
• Will Investments in Battery Technology Disrupt the US Power Sector?
• The World's Nuclear Fleet Is Aging — How Do You Recycle A Nuclear Power Plant?
• 11 Young Professionals on the Future of Sustainable Finance
• System Change Investing: High Impact, High Return
• Carbon-Sucking Concrete is Capturing Attention and Funding

Finance: Bloomberg Green

• Valerie Baudson, the new CEO of Europe’s biggest asset manager, has a roadmap laid out before her as she takes on BlackRock. Major Exxon investor joins activist campaign in battle to reform the fossil fuel behemoth and toughen up its climate goals. Half of Shell’s energy mix will be clean “somewhere in the next decade,” according to the fossil fuel company’s CEO. Hedge fund star managing $1.3 trillion for Norway says greed is out while diversity and climate goals are in.BNP Paribas urges investors to guide lawmakers on climate policy.

Yale Names Alexander Banker as Interim Endowment Head | WSJ

• Yale University said Alexander Banker, director of investments at Yale’s endowment, would run the endowment until a successor is named for longtime endowment chief David Swensen.

Utah Endowment Considers Realignment Toward Sustainability | CIO

• The University of Utah’s Academic Senate has approved an ad hoc committee’s proposal to realign the university’s endowment “toward positive sustainability investments,” which includes implementing eight recommendations.

Harvard Is Paying Out More of Its Endowment Next Year. Here’s Why Other Schools Aren’t Likely to Follow | Institutional Investor

• Harvard University’s endowment plans to distribute more money in the fiscal year 2022 after recording strong annual returns, the school’s chief financial officer recently revealed.

Tulane University Appoints New CIO | Institutional Investor

• Tulane appointed Richard Chau as the private university’s chief investment officer. Chau will be responsible for managing the university’s endowment and related long-term investment assets.

Stanford Issues Novel Sustainability Bonds CIO

• Stanford University sold $375 million in environmental, social, and governance-related public market debt securities in April to help finance various projects in the university’s capital plan. The university says the sale marked the first time a US college or university has issued bonds carrying dual climate and sustainability designations for financing campus construction and renovation projects.

Princeton Adopts Plan to Support More Diverse-Owned Businesses, Broaden Pool of University Suppliers | Princeton Edu

• As part of ongoing efforts to address systemic racism at Princeton and beyond, the University has adopted a Supplier Diversity Action Plan to broaden the pool of suppliers who work with the University and to support more businesses led by people of color, women, veterans, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

UMD Students Explore Sustainability through College Park Circular Economy Project | DBKNews

• Over a two-week trial in April, two seniors at the University of Maryland came together to test whether a circular economy, a system that aims to reduce waste and focuses on the continual use of resources, would work in College Park. Derek Safieh and Samantha Pearlstein, are external consultants for LogTrade, a Swedish software logistics company looking to explore new markets in the United States college campuses as young people tend to be more interested in buying discounted items and more open to trying out new technologies.

The UC System’s Policing Expansion Belies Its Stated Commitment to Racial Justice The Nation

• The University of California has proposed shocking changes to its policing policies. These changes are directly contrary to national trends toward de-escalation, greater accountability, and alternatives to armed response. The new, costly policies not only expand the coercive power and discretionary authority of the UC Police Department but also continue to inflate its bloated budget.

ESG Investments Will Fuel Africa's Post-Pandemic Recovery | International Investment

• DFIs have long track records of being critical providers of financing in Africa, supplying riskier, longer-term investment capital that tends to focus on sustainability, with ESG-like metrics that seek to ‘crowd in' commercial lenders. While certain differences lie within the DFIs' specialties, with some focused on a subset of countries, sectors or currencies, most DFIs invest across the board to ensure and enhance a prospect's success.

Princeton Adopts Plan to Support More Diverse-Owned Businesses, Broaden Pool of University Suppliers | Princeton Edu

• As part of ongoing efforts to address systemic racism at Princeton and beyond, the University has adopted a Supplier Diversity Action Plan to broaden the pool of suppliers who work with the University and to support more businesses led by people of color, women, veterans, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Meketa Investment Group Hosts Inaugural Day of Understanding | Yahoo Finance

• Meketa Investment Group (Meketa), a global investment consulting and fiduciary management firm, announced the firm recently hosted its inaugural Day of Understanding. A day that seeks to help address bias in the workplace and community

Zoom in on Net Zero - with UCL Sustainable Agriculture Expert Dr. Carole Dalin | Business Green

• Principal research fellow, at UCL's Institute for Sustainable Resources, Dr. Carole Dalin chats to James Murray about decarbonizing agriculture and food

Manulife Announces Journey to Net Zero | Guru Focus

• Manulife announced a net-zero emissions commitment to support climate goals worldwide, recognizing the important role 37,000 employees, 118,000 agents, and over a trillion dollars in assets under management and administration can play in global climate solutions.

Net Zero: Despite the Greenwash, It’s Vital for Tackling Climate Change | The Conversation

• The necessity of reaching net-zero emissions globally is abundantly proven in science, and governments pledged in the 2015 Paris Agreement to achieve “a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks” in mid-century, in pursuit of holding global warming to 1.5℃. Yet, It is no exaggeration to say that net-zero is now the defining lens through which many governments, businesses, NGOs, and other types of entity view decarbonization.

U.S. SEC Chair Tells Congress He Plans New Rules on Climate Risk, Trading | Reuters

• The new chair of the U.S. securities regulator told lawmakers the agency was considering new trading rules to address issues raised by this year's GameStop Corp (GME.N) trading saga and the meltdown of private fund Archegos Capital.

London CIV to Reassess Some Investments for Climate-Target Compatibility | P&I

• The London-based pool's first climate risk analysis, covering £8.7 billion ($12 billion) in local authority member fund assets, showed that emissions were 11.5% higher in certain assets than what is needed to align the pool's carbon footprint with the requirements of the Paris Agreement.

The Best of Our Climate-Change Analysis, Delivered Every Fortnight | The Economist

• [Newsletter] Financial firms tend to say they set green goals out of a sense of purpose. But self-interest also plays a part. Asset managers can charge their clients more for climate-friendly funds than for conventional ones. A green tinge helps impress customers too.

Plans With ESG Options See Larger Contribution Rates | PlanSponsor

• Ninety percent of participants who are aware of environmental, social, and governance options in their plan’s lineup say they invest in them. The survey equally found that 37% of DC plan participants said they are offered ESG-related investment options by their employer, while 40% said they did not know.

Arizona State University Students Take Top Honors In National Sustainable Investing Contest | IEN

• Amid growing college and university endowment interest in shareholder engagement and environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused investing, students from Arizona State University (ASU) were recognized today by a panel of judges as the best among college competitors in the student-focused SIILK Corporate Engagement Competition hosted by the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN).

Is Uber Disclosing Enough Information About its Lobbying? 30% of Shareholders Want More | Market Watch

• Thirty percent of shareholders voted for the proposal calling for Uber UBER, +1.53% to produce a report on its lobbying, according to preliminary results announced by the company at its annual shareholder meeting.

Daily ESG Briefing: As You Sow Lands First Proxy Voting Client | RI

• North Carolina-based Warren Wilson College has signed up to As You Sow's new proxy voting service, which it launched recently in partnership with Proxy Impact. The college, which has an endowment of some $55m, will be provided with ESG-based recommendations on all its proxy ballot.

Edward Mason: It’s Time to Re-Shape the Exxon Board for the Energy Transition | RI

• This year’s ExxonMobil shareholder meeting on 26 May will be one of the most significant AGMs since the advent of modern responsible investment. For the first time, Exxon investors are being offered the opportunity to appoint alternative directors, who would bring much-needed value creation and energy transition experience to the board. It is an opportunity all investors committed to responsible investment must seize.

Divestment & the Future of the University’s Endowment | Wesleyan Argus

• The Wesleyan Committee for Investor Responsibility in this article clears up some confusion about Endowment’s relationship with oil and gas which are three confusing and often misunderstood topics.

Maine's Legislature Could Become First to Require Divestment of Public Funds from Fossil Fuels | Main Monitor

• A dozen students, teachers, activists, and retirees rallied in support of a trailblazing bill aiming to divest Maine’s public funds from fossil fuels. The bill has sparked constitutional arguments and a debate over how more than $17 billion of state funds should be invested to best serve the public.

House Committee Approves Bill to Require Climate Risk Disclosures | Yahoo Finance

• The House Financial Services Committee advanced a bill that would require public companies to report more information about their climate change risks. It's not yet clear when the full House could take up the bill. Supporters argue the Climate Risk Disclosure Act will allow people to assess climate-related risks and make more informed investment decisions, which could help speed up the market transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources.

Focus on ESG Will Continue to Grow Under Biden Administration | NLR

• In 2021, the global impact of environmental, social, and corporate governance investing will continue to grow, with key implications for the asset management industry.

The SEC May Get Tougher on ESG Claims—Shaking Things Up for Investors | Fortune

• Asset management firms already have a responsibility to make disclosures in line with the SEC’s climate change rules adopted in 2010. But more recently, interim agency head Allison Herren Lee set the SEC on a collision course with the ESG movement, just as Gensler’s nomination moved forward.

Federated Hermes, Inc. launches Responsible Investing Institute to Provide Continuing Education for Investment Community | PR News

• Federated Hermes, Inc., a global leader in active, responsible investing, announced the launch of the Responsible Investing Institute to train members of the investment community about the topics of responsible investing and role of environmental, social and governance factors in investments.

Wealthsimple Launches New Shariah-compliant ETF on the NEO Exchange | Yahoo Finance

• The NEO Exchange welcomes the first NEO-listed ETF by Wealthsimple Inc. ("Wealthsimple") managed by Mackenzie Investments, providing investors with access to a diversified index of Shariah-compliant stocks.

New Test for Startups Determines Climate Impact in Six Questions | Bloomberg

• Plenty of the startup companies approaching Clean Energy Ventures for funding promised to cut carbon emissions. But when asked how much they could cut, they didn’t know. The venture capital firm built a calculator to find out. The calculator asks applicants six questions, then estimates how much their proposed product or service can cut the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Fidelity International Hires Sustainable Investing Director | Finews

• Gabriel Wilson-Otto joins Fidelity as a Hong Kong-based director for sustainable investing, according to a statement, reporting to global head of stewardship and sustainable investing Jenn-Hui Tan.

• Support Racial Equity Investing: We are accelerating network action on investing in racial equity through 2021. Thank you to Prime Buchholz and Global Endowment Management for answering this call to support our initiative! To join them in sponsoring this work or to learn more about the series of webinars, workshops, and other peer-learning convenings in the pipeline, please contact Kaede at [email protected]
• Net Zero Endowments Steering Committee: We are convening a group to guide our work on net-zero portfolios with opportunities for asset managers to participate and sponsor this work. Contact Georges at [email protected] to learn more.
• Sponsor Our Work Educating the Next Generation of Sustainable Investment Leaders: The SIILK (Sustainable and Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge) Network is an initiative of IEN. Through SIILK, IEN is working to ensure higher education institutions develop the next generation of leaders committed to an equitable, low carbon, and regenerative economy through student-managed investment funds (SMIFs) and a sustainable investing curriculum. You can learn more about the students and faculty involved in SIILK by reading our new report, Educating the Next Generation of Sustainable Investment Leaders: A Report on the State of the Field of Student-Managed Investment Funds, highlighting the assets under management, fund structure, and sustainable investing strategies used by SMIFs. Contact Nicole Torrico at [email protected] for more information, to get involved, and to learn more about opportunities to expand access to sustainable finance education through partnership or sponsorship.
• Sponsor the Climate Action Pursuit: Thank you to our current sponsors of the Climate Action Pursuit! To join for the remainder of the year as a partner, or sponsor, please contact: Hannah Bowen at [email protected]

Visit the new IEN Members Job Board page on IEN’s website to see postings from IEN members.

• Investment Advisory Services Associate | Pathstone

Climate Action Pursuit - June Milestone | June 10-11, 2021

Climate Action Pursuit - October Milestone | October 7-8, 2021

Climate Action Pursuit - December Milestone | December 9-10, 2021

What It Means to Be Green | U of Maryland, May 17, 2021

Gender Lens Investing: Hear from the Experts | Philanthropy Women, May 20, 2021, 2 pm ET

Fundamentals of Sustainable and Impact Investment - Conference Version | US SIF, June 14, 2 pm ET

US SIF FORUM 2021 | US SIF, June 16-18, 2021