Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 92.73
Liaison Emmanuelle Jodoin
Submission Date Oct. 24, 2022

STARS v2.2

Université de Sherbrooke
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 3.00 Denyse Rémillard
Vice-President, Administration and Sustainable Development
Office of the Vice-President, Administration and Sustainable Development
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
84,500,000 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) 8,500,000 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 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:
Some private investments are targeting renewable energy investments and some are supporting sustainable agriculture (total targeted allocation weight of 10%).

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
10.06

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:
La_Fondation_politique_investissementresponsable.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
The Investment Policy, adopted in June 2018, includes a section on sustainable investment (section 4). It is publicly posted on the University's Foundation website and can be accessed here (last document of that page): https://www.usherbrooke.ca/lafondation/la-fondation/documents-officiels/

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:
As it is integrated to the Investment Policy, the equity benchmark from asset allocation policy reference portfolio has changed to become an “ex-coal” equity benchmark, as calculated by the MSCI family indexes. The University now requests from all its managers to disclose their assets in companies that have proven reserve of coal and that are actively exploiting them.

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:
Proxy voting for segregated funds will be managed through a third party administrator that pursue the highest ESG standards in its policy applications of proxy votes.

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

Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
We identified the highest carbon emitters from our Canadian Equity portfolio and sent letters to their Investor Relationship Managers enquiring about their Net Zero commitment and their plan to reduce their carbon footprint in 2022, as part of our new Stewardship Policy.

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:
1. Ex-Energy (target 0% by the end of 2022, max 6% now), ex-weapon, and ex-tobacco rules are applied by the institution’s Canadian Equity Manager (17%).

2. Ex-weapons and ex-tobacco rules are applied by the institution’s Global Equity Manager (23%).

3. All our other fund managers are keeping well below their benchmark their Energy allocation, on an ongoing basis or have no Energy allocation (60%).

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:
PIAC (Pension Investment Association of Canada): active member since 2002.
- Bi-annual conferences are prepared by other pension plans permanent staff for the benefits of the members that address Sustainable Investment from time to time.

CAUBO (Canadian Association of University Business Officers): active member since 2002.
- Annual conference that targets pension and endowment investment issues, including sustainable investment matters.

UN PRI Signatories (October 2018) and UN PRI Québec annual conference.
- The University participated to the event for the last 4 years out of 5 events proposed.

Intentional Endowments Network (in the United States): active member since March 2019.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/developpement-durable/gestion-responsable/investissement-responsable

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
After a comprehensive portfolio review by the Investment Committee, it was confirmed that 100% of the Foundation's investments (endowment and general funds) are aimed at pursuing low-carbon investments and at reducing carbon intensity.

By the end of 2022, the Canadian Equity allocation will be set at targeting 0% allocation to the energy sector, compared to 14% for the current energy sector weight in its benchmark.

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.