Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 81.45
Liaison Lindsey Lyons
Submission Date March 1, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Dickinson College
PA-9: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.73 / 4.00 Neil Leary
Director
Center for Sustainability Education
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

Total value of the investment pool:
383,750,000 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of Holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 43,410,000 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) 17,890,000 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:

Endowment data as of 2/28/2018.

Investments in sustainable industries includes investments in companies that meet criteria for sustainability developed by Dickinson's Sustainable Investment Group. Included are companies with activities focused in areas such as renewable energy and energy infrastructure, environmental services, LEED certified construction and real estate, exemplary ESG performance and/or membership in the following initiatives: RE100, Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures, Science Based Targets Initiative, C2ES and CERES.

Investments in 'sustainability investment funds' include investments in the Investure Global Equity - Sustainability Series plus investments in a Low Carbon Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). The Investure Global Equity - Sustainability Series was created In June 2010 by Investure in response to requests made by Dickinson and two other Investure clients seeking opportunities for investments that advance sustainability. Sectors targeted for investment of the Series include renewable energy, energy storage, LEED certified real estate, water conservation, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.


Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
15.97

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

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

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

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

A copy of the proxy voting guidelines or proxy record:
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:

Investure, which acts as the investment office for Dickinson’s pooled endowment, has a proxy voting policy that recommends to the fund managers who hold the rights to vote proxy resolutions that they support resolutions that promote reasonable best practices in corporate governance and environmental and social responsibility. The policy is communicated to fund managers annually.


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

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

Dickinson College pools its endowment with a consortium of 11 other institutions under the management of Investure, LLC. The consortium members and Investure personnel share best practices for endowment management, including incorporation of ESG and ethical considerations in investment decisions. Dickinson, Middlebury, and Smith Colleges created the Sustainability Advisory Group (SAG) to advise Investure about our institutions ESG values and priorities. The SAG consists of Investment Committee members and CFOs from the three schools. The SAG has been a catalyst for dialogue with Investure and other consortium members about sustainable investment, advocating for creation and expansion of sustainable investment options, development of an investment beliefs statement that addresses ESG concerns, exploration of metrics for assessing ESG performance, and creation of learning opportunities for students. These efforts resulted in creation and later expansion of the Investure Global Equity Fund Sustainability Series, adoption of an investment beliefs statement by Investure that addresses EGS and ethical considerations, adoption of a proxy voting policy that addresses ESG concerns, and regular reporting of ESG and sustainability investments.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.