Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.07
Liaison Katie Koscielak
Submission Date May 7, 2020

STARS v2.2

Cal Poly Humboldt
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 3.00 Frank Whitlatch
Interim Vice President
University Advancement
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
31,562,926.04 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:
---

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?:
Yes

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
Investment_Policy_Final_06.07.19.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
The Board of Trustees of the California State University adopted a resolution urging auxiliary boards, which make corporate investments to issue statements of social responsibility and to follow those precepts in examining past and considering future investment policies. The Foundation Board of Directors recognizes and accepts its social responsibility with respect to the investment of funds and has adopted the Humboldt Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investment Offset Policy ("SEROP") which says that the Humboldt State University Foundation will:
1. Define Socially or Environmentally Concerning Sectors ("Concerning Sectors") in a broad, bold way so as to include:
a. Energy - extraction, distribution, refining and marketing (e.g., oil, natural gas, coal and related industries);
b. Utilities - electricity generation (e.g., utilities utilizing carbon-based fuels);
c. Aerospace/defense, alcohol, tobacco, gaming and casino industries
Revisit definition and revise as appropriate over time.
2. Continue to abstain from any direct investments in Concerning Sectors.
3. Monitor and report on the value of indirect investments in Concerning Sectors.
4. Make reasonable attempts to reduce the size of indirect investments in Concerning Sectors. Sectors provided any divestments are consistent with the Foundations fiduciary requirements.
5. Define Socially or Environmentally Responsible ("SRE") organizations, projects or assets initially as ones which:
a. Are environmentally friendly (e.g., reduce the levels of atmospheric CO2 or;
b. Improve the health and well-being of our community members.
Revisit definition and revise as appropriate over time.
6. Actively seek offsetting investment opportunities in SER organizations, projects or assets.
7. Invest directly in SER organizations, projects or assets provided that:
a. Investments meet the Foundations fiduciary requirements and policies, and
b. Investments support the stated HSU Mission, vision and values.
8. Monitor and report on the value of direct investments in SER assets and active investments in SER organizations or projects.
9. Monitor and report onteh value of obvious indirect investments in SER organizaitons, projects or assets.
10. Create a socially and environmentally responsible fund and actively seek donations of funds and assets that could be used to support Humboldt's SEROP Pledge.

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:
HSUF Board of Directors have a long standing record of seeking investments which support the mission of Humboldt State University and its sustainability beliefs. The Board met with students and discussed the divestment of fossil fuels from the HSUF Endowment portfolio. RV Kuhns, Inc., the HSUF Investment Managers seek out investment funds which do not have fossil fuels in their portfolios in which to invest. Students and the HSUF Board of Directors originally agreed to invest 10% of the Endowment assets into funds divested of fossil fuels. At the time of that decision there were few funds from which to choose. As time has passed, and other companies become more sustainably conscience the number of funds have increased slightly. The Endowment portfolio is current at 38% of funds which are divested from fossil fuels.

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:
The Finance and Investment Committee hopes to take on shareholder advocacy in the future, but is not currently doing so.

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:
Endowment holdings are exclusively in institutional funds. The Investment consultant monitors the funds for several concerning sectors. Ownership in these sectors is measured against the US and international markets.

Furthermore, the Foundation Board of Directors recognizes and accepts its social responsibility with respect to the investment of funds and has adopted the Humboldt Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investment Offset Policy ("SEROP") which defines the campus divestment from concerning sectors as follows (i.e. provides the public statement and committment to applying negative screens to investments):
1. Define Socially or Environmentally Concerning Sectors ("Concerning Sectors") in a broad, bold way so as to include:
a. Energy - extraction, distribution, refining and marketing (e.g., oil, natural gas, coal and related industries);
b. Utilities - electricity generation (e.g., utilities utilizing carbon-based fuels);
c. Aerospace/defense, alcohol, tobacco, gaming and casino industries
Revisit definition and revise as appropriate over time.
2. Continue to abstain from any direct investments in Concerning Sectors.
3. Monitor and report on the value of indirect investments in Concerning Sectors.
4. Make reasonable attempts to reduce the size of indirect investments in Concerning Sectors. Sectors provided any divestments are consistent with the Foundations fiduciary requirements.
5. Define Socially or Environmentally Responsible ("SRE") organizations, projects or assets initially as ones which:
a. Are environmentally friendly (e.g., reduce the levels of atmospheric CO2 or;
b. Improve the health and well-being of our community members.
Revisit definition and revise as appropriate over time.
6. Actively seek offsetting investment opportunities in SER organizations, projects or assets.
7. Invest directly in SER organizations, projects or assets provided that:
a. Investments meet the Foundations fiduciary requirements and policies, and
b. Investments support the stated HSU Mission, vision and values.
8. Monitor and report on the value of direct investments in SER assets and active investments in SER organizations or projects.
9. Monitor and report onteh value of obvious indirect investments in SER organizaitons, projects or assets.
10. Create a socially and environmentally responsible fund and actively seek donations of funds and assets that could be used to support Humboldt's SEROP Pledge.

Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or 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:
Member and signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing (UNPRI) Founding member of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN).

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://giving.humboldt.edu/about-foundation/governance

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Part I totals are intentionally $0.00 per RVK, Inc.

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