University of Massachusetts System

Endowment Value: $1.2 billion (June 2021)

The University of Massachusetts (UMass) is a public university system in Massachusetts. It has campuses located in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, and Lowell, as well as a medical school located in Worcester. The University of Massachusetts Foundation manages the UMass system’s endowment. The foundation’s mission is to “foster and promote the growth, progress, and general welfare of the University of Massachusetts.” 

In December 2014, the University of Massachusetts created the Socially Responsible Investing Advisory Committee (SRIAC). The SRIAC receives complaints or concerns raised by the UMass community regarding social injury resulting from the Foundation’s investments, evaluates them, and makes recommendations to the Foundation. By 2015, the Foundation formally incorporated ESG criteria into its investment analysis. Part of this process of incorporating ESG criteria included launching a Social Choice Fund.

In response to student activism, the Board of Directors of the UMass Foundation voted unanimously to divest its endowment from direct holdings in fossil fuels in May 2016. This accomplishment made UMass the first major public university to divest in fossil fuels. 

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

• IEN Founding Member (2016)
• AASHE STARS: Yes
  • Amherst, Lowell - Gold
  • Medical School, Dartmouth - Silver
• ACUPCC: Yes
  • Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell - 2050
  • Med School - 2060
• Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
• CDP: Yes
• Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
• Divestment Goal: Yes, full (from coal)
• 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:

• UMass Becomes the First Major Public University to Divest from Fossil Fuel Holdings (2016)

• Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts System

Middlebury College

Endowment Value: $1.518 billion (2021)

Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. The Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees and College Administration oversees the endowment. In 2005, management of Middlebury’s endowment was outsourced to Investure, an investment office specializing in managing endowments and foundations. In 2010, the college established the Sustainable Investments Initiative, a fund dedicated solely to investments that meet the college’s sustainability guidelines.

The Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investment was founded in 2011 to promote the socially responsible investment of Middlebury’s endowment through making recommendations to the trustees based on voting proxies and shareholder engagement, positive screening and impact investing, and negative screening and divestment. 

In 2014, Middlebury’s president Ron Liebowitz announced that $25 million of Middlebury’s endowment would be devoted to impact investing, directed towards “investments focused on sustainability business such as clean energy, water, climate science, and green building projects.” He also announced that $150,000 of the endowment would be placed under the management of the Socially Responsible Investment Club, a student group devoted to socially responsible investing. As of 2016, the student-run SRI Club is working to develop ESG frameworks to be utilized in Middlebury’s endowment investment decisions, as well as pushing for more transparency in Middlebury’s investments.

In January of 2019, Middlebury announced its Energy2028 plan, an ambitious, whole-institution initiative to address climate change. Under this plan, the College’s endowment and sustainable investment policy will integrate fossil fuel divestment goals that include a commitment to not invest new dollars in fossil fuels beginning in mid-2019 and a phaseout of direct fossil fuel investments over a 15-year timeline. Learn more about Middlebury’s Energy2028 plan and its divestment strategy by checking out IEN’s blog.

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

• IEN Founding Member (2016)
• AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
• ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2016
• Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
• CDP: No
• Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
• Divestment Goal: Yes, full
• INCR: No
• Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
• Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
• Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
• Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

• Middlebury Energy2028 Plan Press Release (2019)
• Proxy Voting Principles
• Middlebury Sustainability

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:

• University of Utah Sustainability
• Op Ed: University of Utah Decision on Fossil Fuel Divestment is About Changing Political Landscape (April 2016)

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:

• Duke Sustainability
• Duke Climate Action Plan (2019, updated)
• Duke Revises Approach To Socially Responsible Investing
• Documents from the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility
• Sustainable Duke: Sustainable Investment and Procurement Research Paper (April 2016)

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:

• UVM moves to invest millions more into sustainability projects (October 2019)
• University Adopts New Process for Socially Responsible Investing
• Sustainability at the University of Vermont

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: 

• IEN Founding Member (2016)
• AASHE STARS:
  • UC Berkeley - Gold
  • UC Davis - Gold
  • UC Irvine - Platinum
  • UC Los Angeles - Gold
  • UC Merced - Gold
  • UC Riverside - Gold
  • UC San Diego - Gold
  • UC Santa Barbara - Gold
  • UC Santa Cruz - Gold
• ACUPCC: Yes, 10 Campuses With Various Goals
  • UC Merced - 2020
  • UC Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz - 2025
  • UC Berkeley - 2035
  • UC Davis, Irvine, San Francisco - 2050
• Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Yes, UC Los Angeles
• CDP: Yes 
• Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes (UC Merced, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz)   
• Divestment Goal: Yes, full divestment
• INCR: Yes
• Montreal Carbon Pledge: Yes
• Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
• Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
• Principles for Responsible Investment: Yes

Other Sustainable Investing Practices: 

• Sustainable Investing Framework, Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents 
• Chief Investment Officer of the Regents: Sustainable Investment Page
• Feb. 2015 - UC's Progress on Sustainable Investment Strategy
• Sept. 2014 - UC's Announcement of Sustainable Investment Strategy
• University of California Sustainability
• UC Berkeley's Sustainable Investment Fund

Additional Resources:

• University of California says it has fully divested from fossil fuels (May 2020)
• UC Investments creates a program to increase the percentage of diverse management professionals working with the endowment (December 2019)
• The University of California system is ending its investment in fossil fuels (September 2019)
• UC investments are going fossil free. But not exactly for the reasons you may think Jagdeep Singh Bachher and Richard Sterman, LA Times (September 2019)
• UC Faculty Call on Regents to Divest UC Funds from Fossil Fuels (July 2019)
• UC Administration to Reinvest $500 Million Away from Fossil Fuels (April 2018)
• UC investment plan seeks solutions to climate change (September 2015)