University of Louisville
PA-9: Committee on Investor Responsibility
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Justin
Mog Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives Office of the Provost |
Does the institution have a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) or equivalent body?:
The charter or mission statement of the CIR or other body which reflects social and environmental concerns or a brief description of how the CIR is tasked to address social and environmental concerns:
Date: August 2021
Memo To: Committee members
From: Dr. Lori Gonzalez
Executive Vice President and University Provost
Re: Appointment to the Committee on Investor Responsibility,
University Sustainability Council
I am writing to ask you to serve on the university-wide Sustainability Council’s Committee on Investor Responsibility for 2021-2022. The work undertaken by the council and the campus community continues to be a vital part of the University’s strategic mission and demonstrates the commitment of the University to building a healthier, more sustainable, and more just community.
In the coming year I am charging the Council to focus on environmental justice as you develop goals, enact programs, and design educational outreach. This will include continuing to support the Cardinal Anti-Racism Agenda, and incorporating social justice into all aspects of sustainability. Inclusion and justice need to be in the core of our work, with concrete actions to collaboratively reshape our current systems, emerging plans, and potential futures. This is needed work that we must do together.
The committee is asked to continue its work on and offer advice to me for the University and the University of Louisville Foundation as follows:
1. Shareholder proxy voting that best fits the goals of the institution;
2. Determining whether and under what conditions we should be initiating shareholder resolutions;
3. Supporting our Student Sustainability Fund as a learning opportunity with real-world impact for students to practice applying sustainability principles to both investment and philanthropy; and
4. Developing a sustainable investment policy for the university/foundation as a whole.
Our Sustainability Plan emphasizes several actions to focus on. I charge the Committee with developing and implementing strategies to make progress on the following STARS goals, and to apply a social and environmental justice lens in this work:
PA-9: Sustainable Investment – Increase percentage of Foundation’s capital invested sustainably and/or meet all of the investor engagement criteria.
PA-10: Investment Disclosure - Make a snapshot of UofL's entire investment holdings publicly available, including specific funds/companies and proxy voting record.
Your contributions to the work of the Council and the visibility of sustainability efforts at the University are of tremendous value. We have an opportunity to create real change in our practices, policies and behavior, and I thank you for your willingness to assist in our efforts.
If you have any questions or cannot serve in this capacity, please inform the chair of the committee.
Thank you for all you do for the University and our community.
Does the CIR include academic staff representation?:
Does the CIR include non-academic staff representation?:
Does the CIR include student representation?:
Members of the CIR, including affiliations and role:
Committee on Investor Responsibility (CIR)
Sustainability Council 2021-22
Joe Neary Staff Committee Chair; Exec Dir External Affs in College of Business
Per Fredriksson Faculty Economics
Xudong Fu Faculty Finance
Asma Addarrat-Edwards Staff Director of Advancement, Univ. Advancement
Rodger Payne Faculty Political Science
Justin Mog Staff Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives
Grace Engelman Student Divest UofL; Student Sustainability Coalition; Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
Jules Blank Student Student Sustainability Coalition
Sean Raph Graduate Student Diabetes & Obesity Center; Chair, HSC Green Team
Avery Kolers Faculty Philosophy
Examples of CIR actions during the previous three years:
In the past three years, the CIR has focused its efforts on the following areas:
1. Shareholder Advocacy through proxy voting based on ISS' Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Proxy Voting Guidelines.
2. Responding to the DivestUofL campaign's call for complete divestment of the endowment from the fossil fuel industry and complete transparency about where invested money goes (see: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePE3aTahwAI4XmbHNM_NUItsXDXSK3viZzGAJ9pSrnxMHMPA/viewform). In 2020, the UofL Foundation (ULF) switched its contract for investment consulting services to a 100% employee-owned and operated company, Prime Buchholz LLC. Prime Buchholz has helped ULF select lower carbon-intensity investment funds. As of September 30, 2020, they summarized ULF's fossil fuel exposure (the bulk of which is in Equities) as follows:
- ULF’s weighted average carbon intensity fell from 131.5 (12/31/19) to 128 Metric Tons / $MM Revenue (9/30/20), compared to 174 for MSCI’s ACWI (All Country World Index).
- ULF’s output from renewables as a result of investment increased from 0.8 (12/31/19) to 2.3 megawatt-hours (MWh) (9/30/20), compared to 0.5 for MSCI's ACWI.
- ULF’s exposure to the world’s highest emitting companies (e.g. Exxon/Mobile, Duke Energy, etc.) is 1.1% vs. 1.7% MSCI ACWI.
3. Improving donor relations in order to support the new full-circle, Student Sustainability Fund through which students in a fall Finance capstone class learn about and gain real-world experience with Socially-Responsible Investing during the fall semester; and then, in the spring semester, students in a Social Change class learn about and gain real-world experience with Student Philanthropy to support local projects and organizations working to implement sustainability. Relationships were developed with local socially responsible investment advisors, Susan Taylor and Andy Loving, who not only offered matching funds in a fundraising drive for the student-managed fund, but also began guest lecturing to the Finance capstone class each semester. On the Student Philanthropy side, the last three years saw thoughtful student research and support for local sustainability organizations including:
- Spring 2021: Change Today Change Tomorrow, a Black woman led non-profit organization that works for positive change in three vital areas: 1. Education - combating racist educational structures by providing alternative education to our marginalized youth! 2. Food Justice - providing access to fresh and organic foods to improve health and wellness in marginalized communities; and 3. Public Health - from outreach for the unhoused to providing period products to community organizations, they are assessing needs and filling voids.
- Spring 2019: The Bail Project-Louisville, the local arm of the national project to end cash bail and support those who are being kept behind bars simply due to poverty.
- Spring 2018: A Future In H.O.P.E. Youth Services, a local non-profit organization dedicated to housing and mentoring youth who are in the state's custody and getting ready to age out of the foster care system.
Website URL where information about the institution’s committee on investor responsibility is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.