The Warren Wilson College 2024 Shareholder Engagement Briefing Paper details the work of Warren Wilson College to increase financial returns by shifting corporate behavior through shareholder advocacy and proxy voting.
| Read the Briefing Paper |
Warren Wilson College (WWC), a liberal arts college in North Carolina, has focused on applying environmental and social equity lenses to the management of its endowment since 2015. This includes publicly committing to divest from fossil fuels, integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the investment process, and committing to invest with diverse asset managers.
During the 2023-2024 engagement season (fall of 2023 through end of June 2024), the WWC ESG Committee and administration agreed to engage as shareholders with over 35 portfolio companies. As You Sow filed resolutions with 21 of the authorized companies, listing WWC as a lead or co-filer. Following the filing of the resolutions, As You Sow engaged in dialogue with each company. Dialogue with 6 of the 21 companies where resolutions were filed led to impactful agreements that addressed the resolution request sufficiently, leading to As You Sow withdrawing the resolution before each company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), where the resolution would go to a vote. Dialogue with 15 companies went to a vote at the company’s AGM.
Colleges and universities across the country can learn valuable insights from the process WWC has developed and followed to engage with the companies in their endowment investment portfolio through proxy voting and shareholder resolutions.
Read the full briefing paper to learn more (pdf).
Acknowledgements
Warren Wilson College’s engagement work is a collective effort made possible through partnerships with the Intentional Endowments Network and As You Sow. The following people have played critical roles in both the implementation of the work outlined in this briefing paper, and the writing and review of this document:
Gail Follansbee, Shareholder Relations Manager, As You Sow
Rachel Lowy, Shareholder Relations Coordinator, As You Sow
Anthony Rust, Investment Committee Chair, Warren Wilson College
Nicole Torrico, Managing Director, Intentional Endowments Network
Bella Alvarez, Program Manager, Intentional Endowments Network
Aviva Gornick, Sustainable Investing Fellow, Intentional Endowments Network