Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.84
Liaison Natalie Sobrinski
Submission Date June 6, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Muhlenberg College
PA-9: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.62 / 4.00 Kent Dyer
Chief Business Officer
Office of the Treasurer
"---" 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)?:
Yes

Total value of the investment pool:
271,000,000 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of Holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 0 US/Canadian $
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g. using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) 5,800,000 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 5,800,000 US/Canadian $
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens (or the equivalent) 0 US/Canadian $
Green revolving loan funds that are 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 Muhlenberg College Investment Committee conducted analysis alongside their Outsourced Chief Investment Officer to better understand the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) characteristics of the College’s current investment portfolio. By focusing on the public equity exposure in the portfolio, the Committee was able to develop a stronger comprehension of the ESG risks and opportunities embedded in the largest asset class within the College’s total investment pool. Subsequently, the Investment Committee decided to include Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) language into the Investment Policy Statement and allocate 3.5% of global equities to an investment portfolio that specifically targets high quality ESG investments. The Committee will continue to monitor the ESG sensitivity of the portfolio and potentially look at increasing the exposure to ESG or Sustainable Investments across asset classes over time.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
4.28

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?:
No

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
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None
The sustainable investment policy:
Muhlenberg has included ESG language into their Investment Policy Statement. It is not publicly available. Yes, the ESG language in the IPS was constructed alongside Muhlenberg’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer and is applicable to the selection of managers for the targeted ESG allocation.

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:
The ESG language in the IPS was constructed alongside Muhlenberg’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer and is applicable to the selection of managers for the targeted ESG allocation.

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:
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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

None
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
Muhlenberg College has not filed or co-filed one or more shareholder resolutions that address sustainability during the past three years Muhlenberg College has submitted a letter about social or environmental responsibility to a company in which it holds investments during the previous three years We do not have direct holdings. For our commingled funds we ran a report on the funds' holdings against the offending list from the Sudan Divestment Task Force. Subsequently we wrote letters to the funds.

Negative Screens / Divestment Efforts 

Does the institution have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
No

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

None
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
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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 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.