Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.77
Liaison Stephen Ellis
Submission Date Oct. 7, 2021

STARS v2.2

Boston University
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.56 / 5.00 Lila Hunnewell
Chief Investment Officer
Boston University Investment Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
2,392,064,481.46 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g., renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 27,549,112.39 US/Canadian $
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g., using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) 0 US/Canadian $
Sustainability investment funds (e.g., a renewable energy or impact investment fund) 12,801,841 US/Canadian $
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) or the equivalent 0 US/Canadian $
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens (or the equivalent) 0 US/Canadian $
Green revolving funds funded from the endowment 0 US/Canadian $

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

A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
The University invests the majority of its assets with third-party investment managers in funds or other collective investment vehicles. Significant commitments to these funds have yet to be called and invested by the underlying investment managers. In addition to the investments of the endowment, the Investment Office staff was located in the University's first geothermal building, and in the Summer of 2012 moved to a newly renovated building that is certified LEED Gold by the US Green Building Council.

The University has made investments through external investment managers actively involved in the development of "clean" technologies, alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, emissions controls/reductions, sustainable forestry/farming techniques, and other environmentally responsible investments. In recognition of the growing importance of incorporation ESG principles into investment processes, BU has evidenced that some of its external investment managers have implemented one or more of the following, (1) adopted the Six Principles of the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment), (2) developed formal ESG policies and (3) are developing or have developed ESG integration teams within and across their portfolio management organizations. The University will continue to evaluate similar investment ideas as part of the ongoing management of the endowment portfolio.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
1.69

Part 2. Investor engagement

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:
---

None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
No

A brief description of how the sustainable investment policy is applied:
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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?:
No

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

None
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
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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?:
No

Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
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Divestment efforts and negative screens

Does the institution participate in a public divestment effort and/or have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
Yes

A brief description of the divestment effort or negative screens and how they have been implemented:
At the meeting on September 16, 2016, The Board of Trustees approved the following:
1. That the University commit, on a best efforts basis, to avoid investing in coal and tar sands extractors; perfect implementation cannot be assured, however, given the University’s inability to have total investment control due to the endowment’s extensive use of (a) commingled investment vehicles for which the investment manager has complete investment authority and (b) passive index-linked investments.
2. That the Investment Committee be asked to report to the Board of Trustees at least annually on its experience with the above commitment.
3. That the Board revisit this issue every five years, or more often as economic, climatic, technological, and other developments may warrant

Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
100

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?:
No

None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
---

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.bu.edu/trustees/boardoftrustees/committees/acsri/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
This represents FY2020 BU Metrics.

At BU, the Investment office “runs” the Pooled Endowment and has nothing to do with the non-Pooled Endowment. Therefore, all of the responses supplied have to do with the Pooled Endowment only.

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.