Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.58
Liaison Tom Twist
Submission Date June 12, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Bates College
PA-9: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.57 / 4.00 Tom Twist
Sustainability Manager
Facilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Option 1: Positive Sustainability Investment 

Does the institution wish to pursue Option 1 (positive sustainability investment)?:
Yes

Total value of the investment pool:
340,000,000 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of Holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) ---
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g. using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) ---
Sustainability investment funds (e.g. a renewable energy or impact investment fund) 12,000,000 US/Canadian $
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) or the equivalent ---
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens (or the equivalent) 17,000,000 US/Canadian $
Green revolving loan funds that are funded from the endowment ---

If any of the above is greater than zero, provide:

A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
Public equity fund with sustainability as the key determinant of business quality; Activist equity fund focused on a variety of ESG factors; Fossil fuel-free share-class of a multi-strategy hedge fund.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
8.53

Option 2: Investor Engagement 

Does the institution wish to pursue Option 2 (investor engagement)?:
Yes

Sustainable Investment Policy 

Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
No

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
---

None
The sustainable investment policy:
Policy on Environmental, Social and Governance Considerations The Endowment’s strategic asset allocation is constructed to properly balance the need for liquidity, growth and/or preservation of purchasing power, and tolerance for risk. The primary criterion for the selection of the Endowment investment is to maximize return within defined risk parameters, which in turn, maximizes the financial support for the College. In addition, Bates is committed to balancing the financial objectives of the Endowment with the social and environmental priorities of the broader Bates community. The Investment Committee and CIO will consider social, environmental and governance impacts when selecting Investment Managers across all asset classes. The Investment Committee and CIO welcome input from student or faculty groups in assessing the priorities of the Bates community with regard to environmental, social and governance issues. There is to be a sub-committee which shall determine if, and when, sufficient evidence is presented to challenge the operative assumption that acquisitions and holdings in the portfolio conform to the guidelines.

None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
Yes

None
A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:
ESG policy requires OCIO to consider ESG impacts when selecting investments. Recent examples include the addition of sustainability-focused equity manager, fossil-fuel-free share class conversion for a hedge fund, decision to pass on future private oil and gas partnership investments

Proxy Voting 

Has the institution engaged in proxy voting, either by its CIR or other committee or through the use of guidelines, to promote sustainability during the previous three years?:
Yes

None
A copy of the proxy voting guidelines or proxy record:
---

None
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
N/A

Shareholder Resolutions 

Has the institution filed or co-filed one or more shareholder resolutions that address sustainability or submitted one or more letters about social or environmental responsibility to a company in which it holds investments during the previous three years?:
---

None
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
---

Negative Screens / Divestment Efforts 

Does the institution have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
No

None
A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
One manager explicitly screens fossil fuel companies; one manager has no explicit screens but has never and would likely never own fossil fuel companies due to explicit focus on sustainability; other managers apply sustainability lenses in different ways, for example investing exclusively in life sciences and biotech companies.

None
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
10

Investor Networks 

Does the institution engage in policy advocacy by participating in investor networks and/or engage in inter-organizational collaborations to share best practices?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
Hall Capital Partners, OCIO, participates in investor networks, inter-organizational collaborations and is a signatory to UNPRI.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://www.hallcapital.com/pdfs/Full-Consequence-Investing-Memo.pdf

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.