Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.00
Liaison Ciannat Howett
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

Emory University
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.14 / 5.00 Kelly Weisinger
Director
Office of Sustainability Initiatives
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
7,400,000,000 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g., renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 54,100,000 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) 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 funds 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:
Investments in green tech, conservation, renewable power, energy optimization, energy efficiency, alternative and renewable energy companies as well as sustainable forestry and waste management.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
0.73

Part 2. Investor engagement

Sustainable investment policy 

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

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
Emory_Investment_Management__ESG_Policy_6.7.19.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
In addition to Emory's ESG Investment Framework (attached), Emory includes a statement about sustainable investment in its 2015-2025 Sustainability Vision. The relevant language is: "Emory University does not currently hold direct stock or bonds in public companies producing fossil fuels. Emory performs quarterly negative screening of its investment portfolio. Emory holds many investments in sustainable businesses and businesses with exemplary sustainability performance.”

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

A brief description of how the sustainable investment policy is applied:
Emory Investment Management’s (EIM) investment process actively incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in external manager and direct investment decisions to help achieve its goal of maximizing support for endowment stakeholders’ missions. EIM shares its mission and goals with partners, and it engages dynamically on ESG related topics prior to making an investment, in order to ensure alignment of interests. EIM selects external investment managers on the basis of investment ability, judgement, and alignment of interest with Emory University objectives. Beyond asset allocation and manager selection decisions, EIM recognizes that companies that fail to demonstrate appropriate regard for human and environmental well-being do not represent attractive long-term economic opportunities. For example, in 2019 Emory more formally incorporated UN PRI commitments into its investment framework, and the EIM team and those responsible for hiring investment managers were involved in the research and incorporation of PRI strategies, and investment managers were briefed on the commitment to this new ESG framework.

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:
Our Separately Managed Accounts (SMA) are more focused on bonds, so proxy voting is not as much of an issue. However, if there are proxies to be voted on our behalf, the manager would provide a report to us of how the proxies are voted. Our SMA managers have not had to vote any proxies on our behalf in at least a year. We discussed their methodology and how they consider ESG issues when voting, so if the time comes that they need to vote proxies on our behalf, we have confidence they will take ESG issues into consideration where applicable, while still looking to maximize shareholder value.

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

Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
N/A

Divestment efforts and negative screens

Does the institution participate in a public divestment effort and/or have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
Yes

A brief description of the divestment effort or negative screens and how they have been implemented:
As mentioned above, Emory includes a statement about sustainable investment in its 2015-2025 Sustainability Vision and makes its Investment Framework for ESG Issues document publicly available. Both include the fact that Emory performs quarterly negative screening of its portfolio.

Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
2

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:
Emory Investment Management has a very close relationship with peers at similar institutions and regularly reaches out to those peers to discuss various issues, including ESG, and compare best practices.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://sustainability.emory.edu/programs/sustainable-investment/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data reported for 2018-2019 fiscal year.

Emory's investment pool reported is lower than the endowment because Emory's investment pool is part of the endowment, not the other way around. Other funds make up the endowment that are not part of the investment pool. These other funds include single investments and trusts that support our healthcare centers.

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.