Mission-Aligned Investing: What New Positive Deviance Research Can Tell Us About What Moves Institutional Investors to Action
Webinar: Mission-Aligned Investing: What New Positive Deviance Research Can Tell Us About What Moves Institutional Investors to Action
Date: March 15, 2017, 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET
- Research findings related to mission-aligned investing, leadership, and the decision-making process to divest from fossil fuels by philanthropic organizations with assets under management from $5 million to $1 billion
- What factors supported decision makers in moving to mission-aligned investing while simultaneously exercising their fiduciary duty to steward institutional assets
- How the divestment decision affected the decision makers personally and their organizations
- Abigail Abrash Walton, PhD
- Moderator: Jacquelyn Smith, Senior Fellow, Intentional Endowments Network
Speaker Bio:
Abigail Abrash Walton, PhD Abigail is a seasoned mission-aligned change leader, with experience at multiple scales including organizational, municipal, state, federal, and international. She serves as faculty in Antioch University New England’s Department of Environmental Studies, where she directs the Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability master’s degree concentration and co-directs Antioch’s Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience. Her public engagement, research, and teaching focus on change leadership and translating values into effective action, particularly regarding environmental and social performance. She enjoys the spirit and practice of innovation and has played a central role in launching Antioch’s Conservation Psychology Institute and Translating Research to Inform Policy workshops and in catalyzing a national-level working group to build the capacity of scientists and researchers to engage with the public policy process. Read more...
Webinar: Transitioning to Integrating Investment with Mission
Webinar: Transitioning to Integrating Investment Practices with Program Mission
Date: 10/19 at 1:00-2:00pm EST
Co-hosted by the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) and the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets (SFM), this webinar will provide an overview of processes used by the Heron Foundation and Hampshire College to develop investment policies and implement management practices that align investments with their respective institutional missions.
Panelists:
- Clara Miller, President, Heron Foundation
- David Dinerman, Trustee, Hampshire College
- Moderator: Keith Johnson, Chair, Institutional Investor Services Group, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.
In 2012 Heron first declared its quest to deploy 100 percent of its investment capital toward its poverty-fighting mission. Since then, under Clara Miller's leadership, the Foundation has become a leading voice advancing impact investing. In early 2016, Miller published an essay titled "Building a Foundation for the 21st Century," in which she argues the philanthropic sector should make use of all of its resources to actively engage with the capital markets for the public good.
Related materials to review in preparation for this webinar:
- Heron Foundation's Investment Policy Statement
- Hampshire College's Investment Policy Statement
- Clara Miller's essay: "Building a Foundation for the 21st Century"
- Case Study: Expanding Philanthropy: Mission-Related Investing at the F.B. Heron Foundation
Webinar: Divesting from Climate Science Deniers - The Barnard College Story
Date: July 26th, 2018, 1:00 pm EST
In this webinar, participants will hear from Rob Goldberg, COO of Barnard College, Chris Ito, CEO of FFI, and Kathy Mulvey, Climate Accountability Campaign Manager at The Union of Concerned Scientists.
They will take a deeper dive in Barnard College’s process of evaluating the question of fossil fuel divestment and creating an innovative approach that focuses on fossil fuel companies that deny climate science or otherwise seek to thwart efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. Barnard’s partners at the Union of Concerned Scientists and FFI will share how their research can help inform investors on which fossil fuel companies have been hindering climate policy.
Relevant Resources:
- An Overview of Climate Action at Barnard College
- FFI’s Divestment and Climate Action Executive Summary
- Fossil Fuel Divestment and Climate Action Methodology
- Overviews of the 30 Companies Evaluated in Barnard's Assessment
- Case Studies Showing How Three Anonymized Fossil Fuel Companies Scored Against Criteria
- The Climate Accountability Scorecard: Ranking Major Fossil Fuel Companies on Climate Deception, Disclosure, and Action (2016)
- A Methodology for Assessment of Corporate Responsibility on Climate Change: A Case Study of the Fossil Energy Industry l Journal of Environmental Investing, Pages 160-181, 2017
Speakers:
- Rob Goldberg, COO, Barnard College
- Chris Ito, CEO, FFI
- Kathy Mulvey, Climate Accountability Campaign Manager at The Union of Concerned Scientists
- Moderator: Nicole Harman, Program Manager, Intentional Endowments Network
Webinar: Aligning University Investments With Carbon Reduction Goals in the UK Through Fossil Fuel Divestment
Date: July 16th, 2018
In this webinar, participants will hear from Louise Ryan, Deputy Chief Financial Officer at Trinity College Dublin, Jon Gluyas, The Dean of Knowledge Exchange and Director of The Durham Energy Institute at Durham University, and Sian Ferguson, Trust Executive for Ashden Trust, Mark Leonard Trust, and JJ Charitable Trust, three of The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.
Sian Ferguson will kick off the discussion with an overview of the global importance and growth of the DivestInvest movement, as well as the impact of the movement on universities and the vital role they have played. Jon Gluyas will then discuss the research process behind Durham University’s divestment decision, specifically speaking to the University’s communication with industry research partners and funders in the oil industry. Louise Ryan will follow with a review of Trinity College Dublin’s process of engaging with students, as well as an evaluation of the financial and social dimensions of fossil fuel divestment.
Speakers:
- Louise Ryan, Deputy Chief Financial Officer at Trinity College Dublin
- Jon Gluyas, The Dean of Knowledge Exchange and Director of The Durham Energy Institute at Durham University
- Sian Ferguson, Trust Executive for Ashden Trust, Mark Leonard Trust, and JJ Charitable Trust, three of The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
- Moderator: Nicole Harman, Program Manager, Intentional Endowments Network
Note: The Intentional Endowments Network will also be hosting a webinar the following week (Tuesday, July 26th) on Barnard College’s (NY, NY) process of evaluating the question of fossil fuel divestment and creating an innovative approach that focuses on fossil fuel companies that deny climate science. For more information and to register for this related webinar, click here.