Pages tagged "INCR"

Grinnell College

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · March 15, 2018 12:13 AM

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Grinnell College

Endowment Value: $2.93 billion (2021)

Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college located in Grinnell, Iowa. Most of Grinnell's endowment assets are invested with external managers, who have been chosen following extensive reviews by the College’s internal investment staff and approved by the board’s Investment Committee. Investor partners Joe Rosenfield, alumnus, and Warren Buffet both sat on the Board of Trustees and worked with the administration to grow the endowment.  

Grinnell College first published a campus-wide sustainability plan in 2013 with the goal of reducing its carbon footprint and pursuing sustainability through three intersecting spheres: environmental (such as resource management), social (education, community, living standards), and economic (profit, cost-savings, fair trade). In 2017 and 2018, Grinnell College updated its plan to include carbon emissions reduction and renewable sourcing goals. 

In April 2017, the Board of Trustees (BoT) appointed a Board Fossil Fuels and Climate Impact Task Force to study divestment from fossil fuels and explore ways in which Grinnell College can have a positive impact on climate change. The Task Force’s recommendations that were endorsed by the BoT included a.) to maintain the current investment policy and not divest from fossil fuels, b.) increase the Investment Committee’s shareholder engagement in ESG-related issues, and c.)  assess the feasibility of creating a separate fund for donors wishing to contribute to an ESG-screened, fossil fuel-free fund in the endowment. The Task Force also recommended that the investment team continue to leverage alliances with like-minded investors, through organizations such as the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) and Ceres.

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

  • AASHE STARS: No
  • ACUPCC: Yes, no set carbon neutral date
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: No
  • Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: No
  • INCR: Yes
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: In development
  • Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

Brown Univeristy

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · July 30, 2015 5:15 PM

Brown University 

Endowment Value: $6.9 billion (June 2021)

Brown University is a private college in Providence, Rhode Island. The endowment is managed by the Brown University Investment Office. The Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) considers issues of ethical and moral responsibility in the investment policies of Brown University. Committee members include students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University. ACCRIP examines all proxy resolutions concerning issues of social responsibility that are presented to the University as a shareholder and has developed guidelines for voting on such resolutions.

In 2016, Brown launched the Sustainable Investment Fund, a fund with no minimum donation that gives donors who wish to support the University philanthropically a sustainability-focused giving option structured to invest in companies that meet high standards of environmental, social, and governance practices.

In 2017, President Christina Paxson announced the formation of a Task Force on Climate Change and Business and Investment Practices that will identify and recommend opportunities for Brown to fully align Brown's business practices with the University's commitment to addressing climate change. In February of 2019, President Paxson endorsed a bipartisan plan to tax carbon proposed by the Climate Leadership Council. 

In March 2020, Brown hosted the Future of Sustainable Investing Conference (FSIcon). Leaders in finance and sustainability taught students about ESG investing in hopes of uniting students and industry experts in utilizing finance to create a more equitable future.

Following years of student activism, Brown University announced in March 2020 that it planned to divest fully from fossil fuels. The university began selling fossil fuel securities in October 2017 and had sold 90% of its investments in fossil fuels by March 2020. The investment office plans to sell the remaining 10% in the coming months and years.

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

  • AASHE STARS: No
  • ACUPCC: No 
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: No
  • Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes, The Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies
  • Divestment Goal: Yes, cut campus greenhouse gas emissions 2025, net-zero by 2040, liquidate fossil fuel investments
  • INCR: No
  • Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
  • Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes
  • 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:

Stanford University

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · June 16, 2015 11:09 AM

Stanford University 

Endowment Value: $37.8 billion (Aug. 2021) 

Stanford University is a private university located in Stanford, California with approximately 17,000 students. The Stanford Management Company (SMC) and Board of Trustees oversee the endowment. 

Stanford is currently one of only six higher education institutions to earn the highest rank in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), due to its significant efforts to integrate social and environmental awareness into its curriculum, operations, and investments.

Since its adoption of a statement on investor responsibility in 1971, Stanford has recognized its responsibility as an investor and has periodically outlined and updated policies to guide its commitment to responsible investment in a contemporary context. The SMC’s Ethical Investment Framework was adopted in 2018 to govern and complement Stanford’s existing statement. According to the framework, investment decisions are guided based on the understanding that businesses are far more likely to endure and generate sustainable returns on investor capital when they behave with due regard for the welfare of their stakeholders and the communities in which they operate. Stanford currently has a Special Committee on Investment Responsibility (SCIR) of the Board of Trustees as well as Investment Responsibility and Stakeholder Relations (IRSR) office to review proposals submitted by the community and function as an ad-hoc, issue-based fact-finding committee responsible for research and campus engagement where needed.

As such, Stanford’s efforts to address environmental, social, and governance issues through investment has manifested in adopting a climate change proxy voting guideline to support resolutions for companies to analyze levels of greenhouse gas emissions and develop plans to reduce and/or eliminate them. Stanford has adopted policies that preclude owning specific companies with operations implicated in Sudanese human rights abuses, the tobacco industry, and companies whose principal business is coal mining for electricity.

In 2018, Stanford committed $10 million over a 10-year period to develop an expanded platform of educational and research opportunities for students and faculty with interests in responsible investing and governance.

In June 2020, the Stanford Board of Trustees reported a major reduction in the university’s fossil fuel investments. Less than 1.5% of the university’s endowment is now exposed to the fossil fuel industry and the university’s endowment has no direct holdings in the top 100 oil and gas companies. In addition, the Board of Trustees stated that the university would be accelerating its transition to efficient energy sources in hopes of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

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

  • AASHE STARS: Yes, Platinum
  • ACUPCC: No
  • Billion Dollar Green Challenge: No
  • CDP: No
  • Committee for Investor Responsibility: Yes
  • Divestment Goal: Yes, coal only
  • 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:

 

Swarthmore College

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · May 04, 2015 5:25 PM

Swarthmore College

Endowment Value: $2.90 billion (2021)

Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. The college's Finance and Investment offices manage the endowment. The Board of Managers oversees the endowment.

Swarthmore students are among the first to establish a campus fossil fuel divestment campaign.  In 2010, students established Swarthmore Mountain Justice to call on the administration to divest after witnessing mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia.

Although it has yet to fully divest from fossil fuels, Swarthmore does consider ESG factors, including making it a criterion in manager selection, engaging in dialogue with existing managers, and divestment from coal companies. Furthermore, Swarthmore has pledged to expand the environmental studies curriculum and improve on-campus energy efficiency. Its Committee on Investor Responsibility provides proxy voting recommendations on shareholder resolutions addressing social issues.

 In 2015, the Board established a fossil-fuel free fund for donors that wish to contribute to Swarthmore’s endowment. Swarthmore currently has several environmental sustainability funds designated for green project grants, environmental studies scholarships, and internships.

In 2019, Swarthmore College was awarded an Excellence in Sustainability Award by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). NACUBO commended Swarthmore’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2035 and its Carbon Charge Program, which creates an internal price on carbon emissions.

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

  • AASHE STARs: Yes, Silver
  • ACUPCC: Yes, Climate Neutral by 2035
  • 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: No
  • Principles for Responsible Investment: No

Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources:

 

Amherst College

Posted on Endowment Snapshots by · April 12, 2015 3:57 PM

Endowment Value: $3.7 billion (June 2021)

Amherst College is a private college located in Amherst, Massachusetts. The endowment is managed by the Amherst College Office of Investment and Investment Committee.

Amherst currently partners with 73 sustainable investment managers, who in turn invest in public stocks, bonds, real estate, private companies, natural resources, and other assets. Each of these independent managers operates with full discretion to buy, sell, or trade a range of securities. Amherst aims to invest with managers who thoughtfully and consistently incorporate ESG factors into their investment process. The Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees and the Office of Investment have the important task of determining where the college should invest its capital. The College does not have the ability to dictate which securities its independent managers should buy or to avoid, as Amherst’s assets are almost always invested in partnerships alongside other investors. However, Amherst does encourage its investment partners to “thoughtfully and consistently incorporate environmental considerations into the investment process.” Investment managers are aware that sustainability is an important consideration for the college in making investments. They are also aware of how important sustainable investing principles are to their continued ability to attract investment dollars.

Over the past decade, Amherst College has taken significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus, including switching to lower-carbon fuel sources, adding a co-generation plant to create heat and electricity from those fuel sources more efficiently, designing and constructing buildings following a high-performance building standard, and completing recommissioning and deep energy retrofits of existing buildings to further improve campus energy efficiency. As a result, Amherst has seen a 30 percent reduction in emissions from its 2006 emissions levels.

In 2015, the Amherst College Board of Trustees approved a Statement on Sustainability and Investment Policy, which acknowledged the grave threat posed by the climate crisis and supported the development of a strategy for achieving carbon-neutrality on campus. The College pledged to “adopt policies that embed sustainability in its operations, in its investment process, and its life as a community,” and declared it would regularly report progress to the Amherst community. In 2017, the College also developed a plan to go “beyond carbon neutral,” which would apply a carbon tax to Amherst’s emissions in 2035. Additionally, Amherst plans to fund projects that will decarbonize the campus.

Amherst is a member of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network founded by Ceres, a nonprofit organization advocating for sustainability leadership. "As part of our involvement with the INCR, the College has supported two letter-writing initiatives: one to the finance ministers of the Group of Seven in support of a long-term global emissions reduction goal and one in support of the White House’s proposal to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by at least 45% below 2012 levels by 2025." In 2017, the College also became a signatory to the “We Are Still In Campaign” to demonstrate its commitment to delivering on the Paris Agreement’s goals.

Proxy Voting Policy - Amherst College continues to use its shareholder voting rights to promote the principles of sustainable and responsible investment, utilizing research from ISS for all proxies before casting votes in alignment with these principles. The College continues to proactively evaluate and vote shareholder proxies in alignment with ESG principles, advocating for corporate accountability on social, ethical, environmental, and governance issues.

In 2019, Amherst announced its plan to go carbon neutral by 2030. The College plans to use geothermal and solar energy to achieve this goal. The Board of Trustees mentioned that the school will not rely on carbon offsets to achieve carbon neutrality and will instead focus on diminishing its dependence on fossil fuels while increasing its usage of renewable energy.

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

Other Sustainable Investing Practices:

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