Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.15
Liaison Victor Udo
Submission Date Sept. 16, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Bucknell University
PA-14: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.12 / 4.00 John Luthi
Director of Investments
Investments Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total value of the investment pool:
725,000,000 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories::
Value of Holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 0 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) 13,000,000 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 loan funds that are funded from the endowment 0 US/Canadian $

A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:

A renewable energy fund investing in wind, solar, and biomass projects.
A sustainable forestry and a sustainable farmland fund investing in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and South America.


Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
Yes

A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
The sustainable investment policy:

Excerpt from Investment Policy: "Consistent with the University’s strategic Sustainability Initiative, the Investment Committee and Investment Office will evaluate prospective and existing investments with a combination of achieving investment objectives, preserving intergenerational equity, compliance with applicable state and federal codes, and evaluation of environmental, social, and governance factors on a case-by-case basis."


Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
Yes

A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:

Existing investment funds in the endowment are monitored using a proprietary set of ESG questions. We utilize the expertise and resources of an Investment Consultant to assist with due diligence on new investment funds. Our Investment Consultant assigns ESG ratings that represents their view on the extent environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and active ownership practices (voting and engagement) are integrated into the manager's investment process and decision making across all asset classes. During discussions with managers about ESG integration, they assess the use of ESG information to generate outperformance. Four factors are assessed to derive an overall ESG rating: idea generation, portfolio construction, implementation, and firmwide commitment. The consultant utilizes a 4 point ESG rating scale, these ratings are incorporated into our overall due diligence on new investment funds / managers.


Does the institution's sustainable investment policy include negative screens?:
No

A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
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Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
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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

A copy of the proxy voting guidelines or proxy record:
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A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
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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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Does the institution engage in policy advocacy by participating in investor networks and/or engaging in inter-organizational collaborations to share best practices?:
Yes

A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:

Institutional Investor roundtable, NMS Management Forums


The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable investment efforts is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.