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: