Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.66
Liaison Derek Martin
Submission Date Feb. 24, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

California State University, Monterey Bay
PA-9: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.33 / 4.00 Lacey Raak
Sustainability Director
Campus Planning and Development
"---" 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)?:
No

Total value of the investment pool:
18,500,000 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) 0 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 $

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

A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
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Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
0

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?:
Yes

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
policysociallyresponsibleinvesting.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING POLICY I. Introduction The Board of Trustees of the California State University adopted resolution RFIN 7-78-6 regarding Social Responsibility and Investments. This resolution urges auxiliary boards that make corporate investments to issue statements of social responsibility and to follow those precepts in examining past and considering future investment policies. II. Policy The Foundation Board of Directors recognizes and accepts its social responsibility with respect to the investment of funds. However, recognizing the increasingly complex nature of the contemporary economic world and the trade-offs that need to be made given the Foundation’s current asset size, the Foundation will be guided by the following practical considerations about investment decisions: 1. The primary fiduciary responsibility in investing and managing the Foundation’s economic assets is to maximize the financial return on those resources, taking into account the amount of risk appropriate for the assets. 2. The Foundation shall not attempt to achieve absolute “purity” in its investment portfolio nor spend scarce resources searching for problems in the investment portfolio. However, those examples brought the Foundation’s attention will be analyzed as carefully and objectively as possible. 3. It is recognized that investments in pooled funds, which the Foundation may select for diversification or cost management purposes, cannot be controlled or modified. The Foundation shall carefully consider possible social concerns pertaining to investments within pooled funds; however, the Foundation must balance the cost associated with correcting ethical concerns relative to its overall financial objectives. III. Adoption and Review A. The Foundation Board of Directors has adopted this Socially Responsible Investing Policy, dated April 2011. B. The Investment Committee of the Foundation Board of Directors will review this policy five years from its adoption date to determine its effectiveness and appropriateness. The policy may be evaluated before that time as necessary to reflect Socially Responsible Investing Policy Page 2 of 2 Rev. A April/2011 substantial organizational, financial, or physical change(s) at the Foundation or any change required by law or by other governing policy. C. Any proposed amendments or variations of this policy would require a majority approval by the Foundation Board of Directors. IV. Related Documents California State University Board of Trustees Resolution RFIN 7-78-6

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Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
No

None
A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:
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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:
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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

None
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
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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:
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None
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
0

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:
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Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://csumb.edu/sites/default/files/images/st-block-31-1424712083779-raw-policysociallyresponsibleinvesting.pdf

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
This data is not clearly available and managed primarily through the CSU system.

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.