University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
Endowment Value: $21.0 billion (2024)
Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources from the University of Pennsylvania:
Sustainable Returns - Net Zero Update | Penn Office of Investments (May 2024)
University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
Endowment Value: $401.3 million (2020)
The University of New Hampshire is a public research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It has a student body of approximately 15,000 across its six campuses. The UNH Foundation manages the endowment.
UNH considers sustainability a core value underpinning university academics, research, and operations. UNH has received a perfect score on the Princeton Review’s Green College Honor Roll. In 2019, UNH was one of only four universities to receive a Platinum STARS rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
The University’s commitment to sustainability, largely thanks to conversations sparked by students, is now integrated into its investment practices. Since 2017, the UNH Committee on Investor Responsibility (CIR), with membership including students, faculty, alumni, endowment stakeholders, and external advisors, has helped support the Foundation in sustainable, socially responsible investment practices and policies through:
- Researching sustainable investment opportunities
- Considering sustainable investment proposals from the UNH community
- Making recommendations to the Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) of the UNHF Board of Directors on possible courses of action
- Educating and informing the broader UNH community about sustainable investment practices in general and about UNH’s sustainable investment practices in particular.
UNHF’s investment policy takes a multi-pronged approach, including positive and negative screening, full ESG integration into financial analysis, and active ownership through shareholder engagement opportunities. Furthermore, ESG factors are strongly considered in manager selection. As a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, much of the Foundation’s sustainable investment commitments are guided by those principles.
UNHF currently has an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) endowment pool, which was created in 2015. The initial $1 million seed funding has grown to approximately $40 million as of March 2019. In 2017, the Foundation invested $3 million into the NH Community Loan Fund as a component of the fixed income segment of the main pool. NHCLF is the Foundation’s first direct impact investment to make affordable financing options available to economically disadvantaged individuals and communities in New Hampshire.
In 2020, UNH 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.
University of New Hampshire is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Platinum
- ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral By 2099
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Yes
- CDP: No
- Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
- Divestment Goal: No
- INCR: No
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: No
- Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
- Principles for Responsible Investment: Yes
Other Sustainable Investing Resources, Practices, and News:
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UNH President Dean signs IEN/Second Nature Call to Action for Higher Education Leadership | University of New Hampshire Website
- On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, President Dean signed a call to action that aims to accelerate climate solutions in higher education institutions
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Sustainable Investing at UNH | University of New Hampshire Website
- Part of UNH's investment pool is composed of ESG-targeted assets and ESG-screened active and passive (index) funds, in order to achieve better operational performance, innovation, and risk management within their investments.
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UNH Expands Sustainability Leadership with Alignment of Investments and Values | UNH Newsroom, May 2019
- UNH completed the transition of 16% of its investable assets to ESG investments as it works to align the university's investments and sustainable values
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Panel: An Introduction to The IEN Roadmap & How The University of New Hampshire Intentionally Invests l Intentional Endowments Network and WISE, May 2019
- At the event, we heard University of New Hampshire stakeholders describe the why’s and how’s of the journey they are on to align investments with their campus-wide sustainability goals.
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Q&A Series: Making an ESG Impact Through Public Fixed Income l Intentional Endowments Network, April 2019
- In this Q&A article, IEN approached industry experts to gain insight on opportunities and trends within the sector and how managers and asset owners measure the impact of their investments.
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Q&A Series: The Power and Impact of Community Investing l Intentional Endowments Network, September 2018
- In this Q&A article, IEN approached specialists within the Community Investing space to get their perspectives on the value of Community Investing, understanding how to incorporate such investments in one's portfolio and how to truly make an impact regardless of varying levels of assets under management.
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Article: Feature School - University of New Hampshire l Intentional Endowments Network, Quarterly Newsletter, July 2018
- This feature article in IEN's newsletter discusses the UNH Foundation's commitment to sustainable investing and UNH's history of sustainability and sustainable investing.
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Panel: What Might Community Investing Look Like for a College Endowment? l Intentional Endowments Network, Community Investing Roundtable, June 2018
- On this panel, Kate Dumas (Principal/Consultant, Prime Buchholz) invited Erik Gross (Board Treasurer, UNH Foundation) and John Hamilton (Vice President of Economic Opportunity, New Hampshire Community Loan Fund) to illustrate what community investing might look like for a college endowment.
Northland College
Northland College
Endowment Value: $25.8 million (2020)
Northland College is a private liberal arts college in Ashland, Wisconsin. Northland College has a student body of 600 and centers the environment and sustainability in its education. The Board of Trustees oversees the management of Northland’s endowment.
In 2017, Northland College formed the Committee on Investor Responsibility (CIR) to consider fossil fuel divestment. Since then, the CIR’s role has been expanded to include the full scope of sustainable investment including making recommendations on socially and environmentally responsible investment opportunities and proxy voting advice. In February 2018, the Board of Trustees authorized Northern Trust Company, its primary financial manager, to begin implementing the Board's proposal to remove fossil fuels from the endowment over the course of five years.
In early 2020, Northland College completed its divestment process. Roughly $823,000 of the college’s $25.8 million endowment was divested from the fossil fuel industry.
Northland College is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- IEN Member (2017)
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
- ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral By 2030
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
- CDP: No
- 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
Articles
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Endowment Value: $482.2 million (2020)
Loyola Marymount University is a private research university located in Los Angeles, California. The LMU Board of Trustees’ Endowment Committee manages its endowment.
In July of 2017, LMU became a signatory of the United Nations’ supported Principles for Responsible Investment. The agreement is the result of a two-year exploration of responsible investing on campus, which included active engagement among trustees and administrators, student groups, and the university’s Jesuit community. LMU is the first Jesuit Catholic university to become a signatory in the United States.
“LMU continues to be a vanguard of environmental responsibility and sustainability in higher education, and we are proud to uphold the Principles for Responsible Investment,” said President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D. “We prepare our students to thrive as thought leaders and global citizens to create a better planet for those here and for those to come. Ever mindful of LMU’s mission to provide a whole-person approach to our education, we seek to catalyze education, innovation, and stewardship initiatives that benefit humankind. We lead by example, and we hope that our partnership with PRI will inspire other institutions to incorporate environmental and social decision-making into their investments.”
As of Spring 2019, LMU’s responsible investing advisory committee (RIAC), formed in November 2017, finalized a Responsible Investment Policy. The Responsible Investment Policy stated that the University should proactively invest in various types of clean and sustainable energy.
Loyola Marymount University is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
- ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2050
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
- CDP: No
- Divestment Goal: No
- Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
- INCR: No
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: No
- Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
- Principles for Responsible Investment: Yes
Other Sustainable Investing Practices:
Carleton College
Carleton College
Endowment Value: $1.2 billion (2021)
Carleton College is a private college located in Northfield, Minnesota. The Carleton Responsible Investment Committee (CRIC) was established in 2005 and is composed of students, staff, and faculty. The primary purpose of the CRIC is to make recommendations about the management of the endowment to the Board of Trustees to ensure that the endowment embodies Carleton's values. For example, within the past three years, the Committee has supported multiple shareholder resolutions that strengthened environmental, social, and governance policies of companies in its investment portfolio.
In addition, in the wake of growing student mobilization for fossil fuel divestment, students from the CRIC organized a student-led town hall discussion on the pros and cons of divestment in the fossil fuel industry
According to the most recent STARS Report, “while Carleton does not have a sustainable investment policy, the College aims to invest with managers whose standards of propriety, fairness, and ethical integrity align with those of the College. The College tries to select managers that will generate superior returns, but not at all costs, and make investments in a responsible manner that takes into account societal impacts.” The College also reports that a percentage of its endowment is invested in sustainable industries such as renewable energy and sustainable forestry.
Carleton College is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- IEN Member: No
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Silver
- ACUPCC: Yes, Climate Neutral by 2050
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
- CDP: No
- Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
- INCR: No
- Divestment Goal: No
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
- Sustainable Investment Policy: No
- Principles for Responsible Investment: Yes
Other Sustainable Investing Practices and News:
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:
Chatham University
Chatham University
Endowment Value: $95.4 million (2020)
Chatham University is a private university with an enrollment of over 2,200 students. Chatham University offers over 60 undergraduate and graduate programs in four areas of excellence: sustainability; health & lab sciences; business & communication; and the arts & humanities. All undergraduates, save for those in the nursing program, are required to take a course on sustainability.
Currently, Chatham is among the five higher education institutions out of Pennsylvania’s 164 colleges and universities to formally adopt and apply ESG practices as part of their investment strategy. The University’s sustainable investment policy outlines guiding principles that include reducing fossil fuel investments, advocating against corporations that deny climate change, and favoring investments that have positive environmental impacts, promote sustainability, and support positive local community development. More than 13% of Chatham’s investment pool is in sustainable investments.
The administration has worked closely with students on the Student Investment Team (SIT) and the committee on investor responsibility to assess the University’s exposure to fossil fuels and draft recommendations towards sustainable investing. In the Spring of 2017, the investment committee of the Board of Trustees voted to approve two new investment opportunities that are specifically aimed at excluding fossil fuels and supporting sustainable energy. Chatham’s Senior Vice President of Finance, Walt Fowler, said reducing the university’s support of fossil fuel companies is in line with its goal of pursuing sustainability in every part of its operations. “It’s important to us ethically, because we believe the world needs to reduce their use of fossil fuels,” Fowler said. At the end of this year, the university will replace a hedge fund with a private equity fund focused exclusively on supporting wind power. It will also swap investment in a standard equity fund for a BNY Mellon fund that is filtered specifically for green companies but matches the performance of the current fund.
Chatham University is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- IEN Member (2017)
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
- ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral By 2025
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
- CDP: No
- Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
- Divestment Goal: No
- INCR: No
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
- Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
- Principles for Responsible Investment: No
Other Sustainable Investing Practices and News:
University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia
Endowment Value: CA$2.8 billion (2021)
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with a student body of around 60,000 located in British Columbia, Canada. The market value of the Endowment Fund directly managed by UBC Investment Management Trust Inc. (IMANT) and is overseen by the Board of Governors.
In 2013, UBC adopted its Responsible Investment Policy. The policy directs UBC to consider environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors to make informed investment decisions for the UBC Endowment. In 2014 through 2015, the Board carefully considered a student and faculty proposal for divestment and a detailed third-party analysis by Koskie Minsky, an external law firm with expertise on responsible investment.
Although the Board did not approve the proposal, it did allocate $10 million to establish the Sustainable Future Pool for donors concerned about climate change. This fund specifically aims to lower carbon emissions and excludes fossil fuels. In April of 2019, the Board voted to approve an additional $25 million contribution to the Sustainable Futures Pool over the next three years, bringing the total contributed to the pool to $50 million by 2022.
UBC Vancouver also has a Sustainability Fund, established in 2011 with $1 million, for projects that help the University achieve its sustainability goals through reducing campus energy and water consumption, reducing operational waste generation, increasing operational waste diversion from landfills, and increasing the use of alternative energy and alternative transportation.
In December of 2019, UBC declared a climate emergency. After acknowledging the severity of the climate crisis, the UBC Board of Governors expressed its support of fossil fuel divestment and directed the administration to begin taking action to divest. Additionally, UBC transferred $380 million from the university’s endowment to the Sustainable Future Pool.
In June 2020, UBC 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 British Columbia is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- AASHE STARS: No
- ACUPCC: No
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Yes
- CDP: No
- Committee on Investor Responsibility: No
- 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: Yes
Other UBC Information:
- UBC 2022 Responsible Investing Report
- UBC signs Canada-wide charter to address climate change through responsible investment (June 2020)
- UBC declares climate emergency and moves forward on two key divestment initiatives (December 2019)
- Annual Endowment Report (March 2017)
- UBC's Sustainable Investment Fund to be Free of Fossil Fuel Companies (February 2017)
- Amid calls for further action, Board of Governors votes to double contribution to UBC’s sustainable endowment fund (April 2019)
Lewis and Clark College

Endowment Value: $241.7 million (2020)
Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college located in Portland, Oregon. The Lewis and Clark Board of Trustees manages Lewis and Clark's endowment. Since the 1990s, the college has utilized its Sustainability Council, composed of students and faculty, to lead environmental education and initiatives among its 3,500 students. Lewis & Clark College has a strong legacy of promoting sustainability on its campus and earned the number one spot on Princeton Review’s “Green Colleges” list in 2015 (and continues to rank high today). The Sierra Club has named Lewis and Clark as one of its “Cool Schools.” The college sources 100% of its energy from wind and is one of only thirty higher education institutions nationwide to divest from all fossil fuel holdings in the endowment.
Spurred largely by a student-led divestment campaign, the Lewis & Clark Board of Trustees voted in February of 2018 to divest from all fossil fuel holdings in the endowment by 2023. The college’s investment policy is guided by a set of ESG guidelines. The Operations Committee of the Sustainability Council is charged with advising on proxy voting for investments and contributing to ESG program development/reassessment, with several members also participating in a Divestment Sub-Committee.
Lewis and Clark College is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- IEN Founding Member
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
- ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2058
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
- CDP: No
- Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
- INCR: No
- Divestment Goal: Yes, Full by 2023
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: No
- Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
- Principles for Responsible Investment: No
Other Sustainable Investing Practices:
Arizona State University
Endowment Value: $922 million (2019)
Arizona State University (ASU) is a top-ranked research university in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. ASU has a student body of over 80,000 students. The ASU Foundation manages ASU's endowment. The foundation also serves as the university’s entrepreneurial arm in technology commercialization, real estate investment, and other emerging initiatives.
In November of 2018, IEN published a Case Study for Arizona State University which provides in-depth coverage of the University's move toward sustainable investing. This case study was developed with significant input from the senior leadership from ASU and their investment advisors at BlackRock.
The Investment Committee advises the executive vice president, treasurer, and CFO in guiding the investment of university operating cash and endowment funds. The committee approves university investment policies, selects investment consultants and managers, monitors performance, and advises on investment strategies. Voting members of the committee include faculty from the W. P. Carey School of Business. Other voting members are appointed by the executive vice president, treasurer, and CFO.
Arizona State University’s on-site solar portfolio is one of the largest of any university in the United States, consisting of both ASU-owned and third-party-owned systems. ASU’s portfolio includes more than 24 MW dc equivalent of photovoltaic (PV), concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) and solar thermal capacity from 88 systems located throughout four major campuses and the ASU Research Park. ASU’s portfolio of renewable energy accounts for approximately 13% of ASU’s total electric use, avoiding approximately 21,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year, roughly the same as the annual emissions of 4,500 passenger vehicles.
ASU’s revolving fund is called the Sustainability Initiatives Revolving Fund, or SIRF. The SIRF was established in 2010 to invest in projects that foster sustainability efforts and provide an economic return on investment. SIRF funds are available to ASU community members. With the exception of small SIRF grant projects (less than $5,000), SIRF projects have certain investment criteria (e.g., IRR, NPV, and payback goals). Projects include lighting retrofits, HVAC improvements, and central utility infrastructure improvements.
In January of 2015, the ASU Foundation partnered with the Intentional Endowments Network to host the Intentionally Designed Endowment Forum. Over 100 higher education administrators convened to discuss how endowments can be used to create a more sustainable and equitable future.
As of July 2019, the ASU Foundation offers a socially responsible investment fund for endowment donors to donate to rather than the traditional endowment pool.
Arizona State University is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- IEN Founding Member (2016)
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Platinum (2020)
- ACUPCC: Yes, 0 emissions by 2025
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Yes
- CDP: No
- Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
- Divestment Goal: No
- INCR: No
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
- Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
- Principles for Responsible Investment: No
Sustainable Investing Resources from ASU:
- ASU Endowment
- Arizona State University Case Study (October 2018)
- Socially Responsible Investing at the ASU Foundation
- Investment Management Model
- ASU SIRF: Sustainability Initiatives Revolving
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