Furman University
PA-4: Sustainable Investment Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.33 / 4.00 |
4.1 Sustainable investment policy or committee
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of how the institution has incorporated ESG factors and/or climate risk as material issues to be considered when making investment decisions:
Yes, “The Investment Subcommittee and staff support the University’s sustainability initiatives within the context of seeking long-term, risk-adjusted returns as outlined in this policy. While performing research and diligence, investment staff and the consultant will monitor impact opportunities and seek to understand how external investment managers incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors within the overall investment process.”
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4.2 Negative screening and divestment
Narrative and/or website URL providing evidence of the institution’s use of negative screening and/or targeted divestment in support of sustainability:
Furman did divest from its publicly traded energy equities account two years ago in early 2019, however it intentionally didn’t make a public announcement. At the time of the account termination it was approximately $9MM or between 1.5%-2.0% of the endowment pool.
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4.3 Investor engagement
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s proxy voting in support of sustainability:
Has the institution filed a shareholder resolution or signed on to an investor statement in support of sustainability during the previous three years, either directly or through an investment manager?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the shareholder resolutions or investor statements in support of sustainability:
TCI is a climate activist. They mandated disclosures around carbon emissions.
Is the institution an active participant in one or more sustainability or ESG-focused investor networks?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s participation in sustainability or ESG-focused investor networks:
To share best practices surrounding all areas of investment management, Furman’s investment office networks with multiple investor networks: other college & university investment offices, consultants, involvement on the editorial board of The Investment Institute, attendance at institutional investor conferences where ESG topics are often discussed in panel format, etc. The university’s consultant is active member of the following partnerships: Ceres, PRI, IEN, BASIC Boston, USSIF, etc. Furman’s investment office has recently had direct conversations with Intentional Endowments Network (IEN).
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Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
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