Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 79.37
Liaison Jillian Leach
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

California State University, Chico
PA-9: Committee on Investor Responsibility

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.00 / 2.00 Jennifer Rotnem
Director of Energy and Sustainability
FMS
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) or equivalent body?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the CIR or other body which reflects social and environmental concerns or a brief description of how the CIR is tasked to address social and environmental concerns:

CSU investments are centrally managed on behalf of the system and its campuses. The California State University Investment Advisory Committee was established and members were appointed by the Board of Trustees at its September 19-20, 2017 meeting. Although this is a general committee that oversees the institution’s investments, it does have social and environmental responsibility as an explicit part of its mission. The Investment Advisory Committee monitors and reports on all CSU investments following the Master Investor Policy for the CSU. In the Master Investor Policy for the CSU, "the Board acknowledges the importance of understanding the potential; risks and value that environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") factors may have on CSU investments. Therefore, the Boards expects that the consideration for ESG factors shall be integrated into the investment decisions of the CSU."
https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/administration/business-finance/financing-and-treasury/Documents/CSU-Master-Investment-Policy-2017_11_08.pdf


Does the CIR include academic staff representation?:
No

Does the CIR include non-academic staff representation?:
No

Does the CIR include student representation?:
No

Members of the CIR, including affiliations and role:

Ex Officio Members
--Jack McGrory, California State University Trustee​​​; Chair of the Investment Advisory Committee
--Steve Relyea, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer of the California State University; Vice Chair of the Investment Advisory Committee
--Robert Eaton, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Financing, Treasury, and Risk Management, California State University
--Timothy J. Schaefer, Deputy Treasurer for Public Finance, Office of the California State Treasurer

Members Appointed by the Board of Trustees
--David Bach, Principal, The Bach Group; former investment officer for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System; board member for University Enterprises, Inc. at California State University, Sacramento
--Leona M. Bridges, Director, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency; board member for the San Francisco State Foundation.
--Michael A. Lucki, Former Chief Financial Officer and member of the board of directors for CH2M Hill Companies, Ltd.; board member of the California State University Foundation.
--Irwin Rothenberg, Wealth Advisor, Buckingham Asset Management; board member for the Sonoma State University Foundation.


Examples of CIR actions during the previous three years:

​​​California State University (CSU) Chancellor Joseph I. Castro announced that the university will not pursue any future investments in fossil fuels in the university's three investment portfolios: Systemwide Investment Fund Trust (SWIFT), Intermediate Duration Portfolio (IDP) and Total Return Portfolio (TRP).

In May 2021, Chancellor Castro tasked the CSU's Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) to review the university's investments to ensure alignment between the university's fiduciary responsibility and its commitment to sustainability. At the conclusion of their meeting on October 6, the IAC shared its recommendations with the Chancellor, who agreed to adopt them and has tasked staff at the Chancellor's Office with implementation. The IAC's recommendations included:
-- Liquidating fossil fuel-related bonds held in SWIFT as soon as reasonable and restrict future fossil fuel investments for that same portfolio and the IDP.
Transition out of the TRP's direct energy mutual fund and into other non-fossil fuel mutual funds.
--Work as appropriate and feasible to further reduce fossil fuel exposures in the TRP, which due to legislative restrictions is limited to mutual funds.
--Allow CSU investment managers discretion to continue to invest in businesses that are successfully transitioning to sustainable green business models.

CSU investments are centrally managed on behalf of the system and its campuses.

For more information: https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/news/Pages/California-State-University-Will-Not-Make-Future-Fossil-Fuel-Investments-in-University-Investment-Portfolios-and-Funds.aspx


Website URL where information about the institution’s committee on investor responsibility is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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