Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.92
Liaison Andrea Troyer
Submission Date July 26, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Eastern Mennonite University
PA-9: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 4.00 Daryl Bert
Vice President of Finance
Business Affairs
"---" 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:
21,082,626 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of Holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 506,000 US/Canadian $
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g. using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) 506,000 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 25,300 US/Canadian $
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens (or the equivalent) 1,488,500 US/Canadian $
Green revolving loan funds that are funded from the endowment ---

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

A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
Note that ALL investments in the entire endowment portfolio are screened, and there is a wide variety of sustainable industries, such as renewable energy, represented in the dynamic portfolio at any given point in time. We do not break out the categories in the same way as those requested above, so it is virtually impossible to come up with those amounts in those categories. Conservative estimates are used for this purpose. Our SRI screening process uses both positive and negative screens, to determine which investments are appropriate.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
11.98

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:
MEA IPS - stewardship sections - June 2017.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
---

None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
Yes

None
A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:
See attached document.

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?:
Yes

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

None
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
asdfasdf

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?:
Yes

None
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
EMU participates in the Mennonite Education Agency Investment Fund, which is a pooled endowment fund of Mennonite higher education schools and seminaries. The endowment fund is fully screened and managed within the parameters of socially responsible investing guidelines developed by Everence Financial Services, a leader in the SRI investing world. Everence votes all our proxies and is active in participation with other socially responsible shareholders in filing shareholder resolutions and in communicating directly with companies about a variety of social and environmental concerns. As an example, Everence was present in top level meetings with BP following the Deep Water Horizon oil spill and was able to help persuade the company to do more than they had initially intended to address the major impacts from the oil spill.

Negative Screens / Divestment Efforts 

Does the institution have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
asdfadsf

None
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the 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?:
Yes

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

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.everence.com/k1.aspx?id=7332&token=1

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

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.