Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.28
Liaison Michelle Seppala Gibbs
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

Hope College
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.00 / 3.00 Michelle Gibbs
Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
277,200,000 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 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:
The college received a generous donation from two alumni to help launch a campus Green Revolving Fund. The college has committed $100,000 over two years as well with the potential for additional funds in the future. The collge's match funding is coming out of our operational budget but not our endowment, however, our operational budget is annually funded by profits from our endowment. The college has also committed longer term support for the Green Revolving Fund because none of the GRF dollars pay for the staff, faculty, or student time on this. The fund dollars are only for project work.
-Fund Management Structure
The fund will be managed by faculty and staff supervisors (4) that oversee the research and proposal work of a team of interns (5). Members from within this team will also vote to implement selected projects from among those researched and proposed by the interns.
-Voting Members of Project Approval Committee
Chief Financial Officer, Director of Finance and Business Services, Director of Operations, Physical Plant Project Manager, Director of the Office of Sustainability, and the Green Team Chair

Hope College has proven sustainability track record, reducing our environmental impact even while growing campus. Further progress will benefit from ideas and mechanisms that are financially sustainable and improve campus, while shifting college activities to sustainable practices. A green revolving fund serves three broad institutional goals in this direction.
1. It establishes an internal mechanism and commitment to identify and fund sustainability investments that lower operating costs.
2. It communicates to community members and students our commitment to limiting our environmental impact, and backs this commitment with a tangible financial investment.
3. It offers internal and external community members a process for researching and investing in sustainability projects, including student research/leadership positions.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
0

Part 2. Investor engagement

Sustainable investment policy 

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

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
---

None
The sustainable investment policy:
---

None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
No

A brief description of how the sustainable investment policy is applied:
---

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:
---

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

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:
---

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?:
No

A brief description of the divestment effort or negative screens and how they have been implemented:
---

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

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:
---

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts 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.