Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.88
Liaison Joséanne Bélanger-Gravel
Submission Date June 3, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Polytechnique Montréal
PA-9: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 4.00 Manon Beaulieu
Director
Retirement Office
"---" 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)?:
No

Total value of the investment pool:
---

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of Holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) ---
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g. using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) ---
Sustainability investment funds (e.g. a renewable energy or impact investment fund) ---
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) or the equivalent ---
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens (or the equivalent) ---
Green revolving loan funds that are funded from the endowment ---

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

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:
---

None
The sustainable investment policy:
The Pension Plan does not have a public policy on responsible investment. However, the Retirement Committee, which is the administrator of the Pension Plan, has delegated the investment of the Pension Fund to its managers in accordance with their respective mandates and the investment policy of the Plan. Therefore, it is the managers who decide on the Fund's investments and this includes responsible investment. Seven out of nine managers, representing 95.7% of the total invested funds of the plan, have a publicly available policy on responsible investment.

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

None
A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:
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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:
Yes, through the Pension Fund managers who vote on behalf of the Retirement Committee. The Retirement Committee has delegated the management of the votes to the managers of the Pension Fund and they vote in accordance with their own proxy voting policy. Since most of the managers have a sustainable investment policy or have signed the PRI, the votes are cast accordingly. Seven out of nine managers, representing 95.7% of the total invested funds of the plan, have a publicly available policy on responsible investment.

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?:
Yes

None
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
Yes, through the Pension Fund managers. Four of the managers have active shareholder engagement and two of them have public engagement policies. In 2018, a survey was sent to all the managers to better understand their engagement towards sustainability.

Negative Screens / Divestment Efforts 

Does the institution have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
Polytechnique's "Fondation de Polytechnique" which manages the equivalent of the endowment, uses negative screens than ban the arms industry from their investment portfolio. This practice is not enshrined in a publicly available investment policy, but it was discussed and reaffirmed at various investment committee meetings.

None
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the 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?:
No

None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
Indirectly through the managers of the Pension Fund; six out of nine of the managers, representing 91% of total Plan assets, are members of PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) and PRI signatories are committed to promoting ESG criteria to their employees, customers and suppliers and to improving their ESG practices.

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:
As in the first report submitted in 2016, it was decided that Polytechnique would report on activities made by both Fondation et alumni de Polytechnique Montréal and the pension fund, since it represents substantial investments.

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.