Pages tagged "AASHE STARS"

The New School

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 28, 2015 1:42 PM

The New School

Endowment Value: $393.5 million (2020)

The New School is a private research university located in New York City, New York. The endowment is managed by the New School’s Office of Investment, Treasury Operations, and Risk Management.

In 2009, the board of trustees established the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility (ACIR). The role of the ACIR is to advise the board of trustees on ESG issues related to The New School’s endowment and to develop ESG investing principles related to human rights, labor practices, environmental protection, equity, diversity, discrimination, and corporate disclosure. In 2012, The New School adopted the Sustainability Proxy Voting Guidelines, which established standards against which the Investment Committee could evaluate its investments.

In 2015, The New School not only became one of the largest universities to divest from fossil fuels, but it also has plans to reshape its entire curriculum to focus more on climate change and sustainability through a multi-pronged approach to issues related to university facilities, curriculum, food services, and other areas.

The New School is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

  • AASHE STARS: Yes, Silver
  • ACUPCC: Yes, Climate Neutral by 2040
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: Yes
  • Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: Yes, full
  • 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:

 

University of Utah

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 28, 2015 1:41 PM

University of Utah

Endowment Value: $1.32 billion (2021)

The University of Utah is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah with over 20,000 students. The University of Utah's endowment has experienced steady growth while being managed by the Investment Advisory Committee. With regards to responsible investment, the Sustainability Office oversees and coordinates the Socially Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Investment Advisory Committee (SRESIAC). This committee is composed of students, faculty, and others with financial expertise and provides advice on strategies for endowment investment, infrastructure investment, and other investment initiatives related to environmentally sustainable action. The establishment of the SRESIAC, along with the establishment of various sustainability funds, stems from a 2016 resolution brought to the Academic Senate by the ad hoc Committees for Responsible Investment and Reinvestment Dialogue.

One such fund is the social choice fund, which avoids companies in the tobacco, alcohol, firearms, gambling, military weapons, and nuclear power industries. They evaluate investment opportunities for this fund based on environmental stewardship, human rights, and other ESG criteria. Through its retirement options, the University of Utah offers SRI options for employee retirement holdings from TIAA and Fidelity Investments. The Sustainable Campus Revolving Loan Fund (SCRLF) is another fund that finances carbon neutrality projects on campus and is made possible primarily by a $2.50 fee that is part of every students’ tuition.

In May 2016, following years of student activism, the Academic Senate passed a resolution calling on University administrators to divest from fossil fuels over the next five years. The administration has yet to fully implement a full divestment policy.

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

  • AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
  • ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2050
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Yes
  • CDP: No
  • Divestment Commitment: No
  • Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • INCR: No
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
  • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

Duke University

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 28, 2015 1:41 PM

Duke University 

Endowment Value: $12.7 billion (2021)

Duke University is a private college located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's endowment is managed by the Duke University Management Company (DUMAC). In 2004, the Duke Board of Trustees approved a set of SRI guidelines and the establishment of two committees, the President’s Special Committee on Investment Responsibility (PSC) and the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility (ACIR), to advise the Board of Trustees on investment-related issues and proposals. The Board of Trustees also instructs DUMAN to exercise shareholder rights to support sustainable policy changes of companies the university is a shareholder of. Duke has taken action to support sustainability initiatives across campus.

According to a 2016 report, DUMAC relies upon positive and best-in-class screening as well as ESG factor analysis to drive investment decisions. As a result, the endowment portfolio encompasses several environmental technologies and renewable energy companies. In 2013, Duke established its Social Choice Fund as an alternative fund within the endowment for donors interested in SRI. The Social Choice Fund is managed by a third party. 

In November 2019, a student-run organization called Duke Impact Investing Group was awarded $100,000 from the university to invest for positive change. The group aims to educate students about impact investing while providing them with hands-on experience with ESG investing.

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

  • AASHE STARS: No
  • ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2024
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: No
  • Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: No
  • INCR: No
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: No
  • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

 

Hampshire College

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 14, 2015 12:26 AM
Hampshire College

Endowment Value: $48.5 million (2021)

Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts. The college's endowment, of which is 80% donor-restricted,is managed by the Trustees of Hampshire College.

Hampshire College was among the first colleges to adopt SRI policies in the 1970s, and it was the first to divest from South Africa to protest apartheid. In 2011, Hampshire began incorporating ESG principles into its investment strategy by adopting an investment policy that emphasized positive screening and active investment in companies that aligned with Hampshire’s mission. This new policy led Hampshire College to become the first college to divest from fossil fuels.

Hampshire College’s Policy on Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing acknowledges that because of the long-term risks certain business practices pose, consideration of ESG principles is part of the college’s fiduciary duties. Read the full policy here.

In January 2019, College President Miriam Nelson announced the College’s intention to find a long-term strategic partner to merge with and ensure a “thriving and sustainable future”, citing both financial and enrollment hardships as a small, under-endowed liberal arts college.

In 2020, Hampshire College was featured in the Intentional Endowment Network’s case study on ESG investing. The study revealed that schools employing ESG investing practices saw the same or better returns as schools employing a traditional approach to investing. Read the full study here.

Hampshire College is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

Other Sustainable Investing Practices and News:


University of Vermont

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 02, 2015 2:14 PM

University of Vermont

Endowment Value: $730 million (2021)

The University of Vermont is a public university located in Burlington, Vermont. The endowment is managed by the University of Vermont Foundation (UVF) and is overseen by the Investment Subcommittee (ISC) of the Board of Trustees.

The endowment is separated into several pools. The Green Fund is a pool that uses negative screening to invest responsibly. Another pool, the Student-Managed Pool, is managed by students and provides a learning opportunity for students interested in sustainable investment.    

According to its Statement of Investment Objectives and Policies, the Board considers moral, ethical, and social criteria in selecting investments or participates in shareholder resolutions that address moral, ethical, or social issues. The University does not invest in tobacco companies or uranium landmine companies.

The University of Vermont currently has an SRI Advisory Council that conducts research on issues related to proxy voting, shareholder initiatives, screening, and monitoring the University’s investment portfolio for indications of social harm. For example, in 2018, after research and extensive conversations on the options available to the University, the SRI Advisory Council recommended moving forward on a green bond strategy to improve the ESG metrics of a portion of UVM’s operating reserves.

In October 2019, UVM pledged to invest an extra $10 million in green bonds. This move followed sustained pressure from student activists advocating for fossil fuel divestment. SGA President Jillian Scannell said “Students want divestment, and the administration knows that. Divestment is determined by the board [of trustees], so I feel like this is the administration’s effort to say, ‘We hear you, and we’re trying to be responsive to your call.’”

In July 2020, the university announced its decision to divest from fossil fuels. No new direct investments in fossil fuels will be made, and the university aims to divest entirely by 2023.

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

  • AASHE STARs: Yes, Gold
  • ACUPCC: Yes, Climate Neutral by 2022
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Yes
  • CDP: No
  • Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: Yes
  • INCR: No
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
  • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources:

University of California

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 01, 2015 4:29 PM

University of California System

Endowment Value: $29.9 billion (2021)

The University of California is a public university system in California. It has 10 campuses located in Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. The Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents manages the UC system’s endowment.

In September of 2014, the Office of the Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) developed and adopted a framework on sustainable investing. The framework, developed with input from the UC Board of Regents, UC students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders, requires the OCIO to consider ESG factors when making investment decisions. In 2017, UC adopted an additional policy to strengthen its ESG framework. The OCIO applies a handful of negative screens to its investments, including companies doing business in Sudan and those involved in thermal coal or oil sands, tobacco, firearms, and private prisons.

The UC has made significant investments in various sustainable companies, funds, and initiatives and is an active member in several climate-related investor groups. In 2015, the UC founded the Aligned Intermediary, an investment advisory group that helps long-term investors identify climate infrastructure projects in clean energy, water infrastructure, and waste-to-value that they can invest in. In 2017 the UC endowment made a $50 million sustainable agriculture investment through the AI platform. That same year, the UC became the first and only institutional investor to sign on to the Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Coalition. In 2018, UC announced a commitment to invest $1 billion over five years in climate change solutions.

In July 2019, UC’s Academic Senate announced the passage of a Memorial calling on the UC Board of Regents to divest from the top 200 fossil fuel companies. The memorial was voted on by faculty at all 10 campuses of the university system and received a combined vote of 77% in favor. 

In September of 2019, the University of California announced its plans to divest from all fossil fuel securities. Between UC’s endowment and its pension fund, the University divested over $80 billion from fossil fuels, making it the single largest act of fossil fuel divestment in the movement’s history. “We believe hanging onto fossil fuels is a financial risk,” said chief investments officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher of the University’s divestment decision. By May 2020, the University announced it had completed its divestment process. UC sold over $1 billion in fossil fuel assets.

In 2020, the University of California was featured in the Intentional Endowment Network’s case study on ESG investing. The study revealed that schools employing ESG investing practices saw the same or better returns as schools employing a traditional approach to investing. Read the full study here.

The UC System and/or Individual Campuses are a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

Other Sustainable Investing Practices: 

 

Additional Resources:

Simon Fraser University

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 01, 2015 3:28 PM

Simon Fraser University 

Endowment Value: CA$605 million (2021)

Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public university with campuses located in Burnaby, Surrey, and Vancouver, British Columbia. SFU’s endowment is managed by the SFU Community Trust.

In 2014, SFU became the second Canadian university to become a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). As a signatory, SFU has pledged to be an active shareholder by taking actions including but not limited to proxy voting, direct engagement, encouraging research on responsible investment, and reporting through UNPRI.

SFU’s Responsible Investment Committee (RIC) is responsible for reviewing ESG issues at SFU, including those raised by University community members. For example, SFU’s Board of Governors approved a recommendation initiated by the RIC to measure the carbon footprint of the public equity portion of its investment portfolio and to commit to reducing the carbon footprint of its investment portfolio by at least 30% by 2030. According to its 2018 report for AASHE STARS (a self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance), SFU's sustainable investment holdings are balanced across global private equity clean technology funds, global sustainable equity funds as well as fossil fuel-free global and US equity managers.

In March 2020, SFU released a new five-year sustainability plan. The plan was developed with the intention of meeting multiple sustainability-related goals, including reducing the university’s investment portfolio’s carbon footprint by 45%. The SFU Sustainability Office is going to oversee the implementation of the five-year plan.

In June 2020, SFU 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.

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

  • AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
  • ACUPCC: No
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: No
  • Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: Yes, divestment from fossil fuels by half
  • INCR: No
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
  • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: Yes

Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources:

 

Dickinson College

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · June 30, 2015 6:52 PM

Dickinson College

Endowment Value: $558 million (2021)

Dickinson College is a private college located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 2006, Dickinson joined the Investure consortium, an outsourced chief investment office that serves the needs of a select group of prestigious colleges and foundations. In 2010, Investure created a Sustainable Series within its Global Equity Fund in response to requests made by clients. A joint effort with Investure produced a set of proxy voting principles so that Dickinson College can participate in shareholder engagement. 

In addition to its relationship with Investure, the Dickinson Sustainability Investment Group (DSIG) advises the endowment board on ESG strategies and is responsible for providing a forum for the Dickinson community to raise and discuss questions regarding ESG investing practices. The most recent forum was held in October 2018 to discuss the college’s endowment structure and approach to sustainable investing. 

In April 2020, Dickinson College became one of the first colleges in the country to achieve carbon neutrality. To achieve this goal, Dickinson reduced its carbon emissions by 25% from its 2008 levels and purchased carbon offsets. In addition, 65% of Dickinson’s electricity is provided by solar power.

Dickinson College is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources:

  • Sustainable Investments Funds:
    • Green Revolving Fund - a revolving loan fund established in 2014 to finance climate action plan projects
    • Sustainability Global Equity Fund - $8 million of our endowment is committed to this sustainability fund, which is managed for use by Investure.

Pitzer College

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · June 30, 2015 1:12 AM

Pitzer College

Endowment Value: $144.3 million (2021)

Pitzer College is a private college located in Claremont, California with a student population of about 1,000. From innovative, green buildings to food waste initiatives, Pitzer College is a model of sustainability in the modern era. Such initiatives have earned it a second place rank in the 2018 Princeton Review Guide of 399 Green Colleges.

In 2014, Pitzer adopted several responsible investment practices such as considering ESG factors in portfolio manager selection and monitoring, establishing a sustainability fund as a subset of its endowment holdings, and divesting from fossil fuels (making Pitzer the first college in Southern California to divest from fossil fuels). Don Gould, trustee and chair of the investment committee at Pitzer College, published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education outlining their rationale for divesting from fossil fuels. In this article, he shares responses to some of the most common concerns regarding divestment, including fiduciary duty, financial performance, the impact on fossil fuel companies, the hypocrisy of continuing to use fossil fuels after divesting, sacrificing returns, and politicizing the endowment.

In 2017, Pitzer College became the founding investor to the first-ever global equity index that is both ESG-focused and fossil fuel-free. According to the press release, “the fund is designed to help endowments, foundations and other nonprofit organizations meet their Responsible Investment goals.”

Pitzer College is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

  • IEN Member (2017)
  • AASHE STARS: Yes, Silver
  • ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2050
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: No
  • Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: Yes, divestment from fossil fuels
  • INCR: No
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
  • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

San Francisco State University

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · June 30, 2015 1:10 AM

San Francisco State University 

Endowment Value: $140.8 million (2021)

San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. It is a part of the California State University system. The endowment is managed by the San Francisco State University Foundation, an organization dedicated solely to philanthropy. 

In 2013, after working with student activists, the SF State Foundation voted unanimously to divest from all coal and tar sands companies, becoming the first public university and the first school on the west coast to do so. It also committed to researching the possibility of divestment from all fossil fuel companies.

In 2015, the SFSU Board was in the process of allocating $5 million to establish a green fund, as well as establishing a $500,000 student-managed investment fund. The goal of the student-managed fund is to expose students of different academic backgrounds to SRI investing. The SF State Foundation also calculated the carbon footprint of its portfolio and will measure the change in its footprint over time.

In 2016, SFSU partnered with IEN to host the Intentionally Designed Endowment Forum to promote conversation on endowment investing by bringing together campus decision-makers such as presidents, trustees, CFOs, CIOs, and others from campuses in California and the region.

San Francisco State University is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments: 

  • IEN Founding Member (2016)
  • AASHE STARS: Yes, Silver
  • ACUPCC: No
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: No
  • Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: Yes, divestment from coal and tar sands
  • INCR: No
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
  • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

Resources from SFSU:

 

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