Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 85.89
Liaison Jennifer Andrews
Submission Date Oct. 24, 2024

STARS v2.2

University of New Hampshire
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Erik Gross
Treasurer
UNH Foundation
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
316,227,916 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) 200,997,998 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 1,648,811 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:

The UNH Foundation endowment assets are invested almost entirely in pooled vehicles managed by third-party managers. The Foundation invests about 0.5% of its assets with the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, a CDFI serving several important and underserved communities in the NH loan market.

Fund managers exhibiting “exemplary sustainability performance” exist across all segments of the Foundation’s portfolio. This assessment is based on comprehensive ESG survey data updated and compiled annually by the Foundation’s consultant Prime Buchholz. The resulting fund manager scores on a scale of 0-5 show that the Foundation’s portfolio has a weighted average score of 3.06.   The UNH Foundation designates scores greater than 3.0 as exemplary ESG-qualified fund managers. (We increased the threshold from 2.5, the cutoff in our 2021 submission.) 38 of the Foundation’s 60 fund managers are in this exemplary scoring tier, comprising 63% of the Foundation’s assets under management.

Representative characteristics of the managers demonstrating exemplary sustainability performance:

  • 21 of the pooled funds are UN PRI signatories and 33 funds have a well-articulated ESG policy; 17 have made both commitments.
  • 32 funds have DEI policies/initiatives.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
64.08

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:
UNHF_Sustainable_Investing_Summary_September_2024.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
---

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:

The Foundation’s Investment Committee collaborates with Prime Buchholz, its consultant, to select fund managers for the portfolio as guided by the Foundation’s investment policy statement, which stipulates that ESG factors will be reviewed in the selection process for all new managers, as well as in the ongoing monitoring of existing managers. Their review ensures that the committee consistently discusses managers through this ESG lens. Prime Buchholz periodically issues research reports to the committee using various screens (fossil fuels, private prisons, weapons, etc.) so that the committee can routinely review the portfolio’s exposure to these issues.

Prime Buchholz conducts their ESG and DEI surveys annually. As part of these annual engagements, Prime Buchholz reinforces with our fund managers the importance and value we place on using sustainable investing principles in the investment process.  Prime shares ESG and DEI fund manager level detail and portfolio-wide analysis report with the Foundation’s investment committee yearly and as needed throughout the year.


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:

While virtually all of the Foundation’s investments are in commingled funds and thus do not permit direct proxy voting by the Foundation to underlying managers, the Foundation has issued letters to all fund managers encouraging them to vote proxies with sustainable investing principles in mind.


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:
---

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?:
No

A brief description of the divestment effort or negative screens and how they have been implemented:
---

Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
0

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:

The UNH Foundation has been a member of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) since 2018, and Erik Gross, the Foundation’s treasurer, and some members of the Committee on Investor Responsibility have participated on a number of IEN conference panels regarding UNH’s sustainable investing experiences over the last several years. Mr. Gross has been a member of the IEN steering committee for the past 3 years and recently joined IEN’s executive committee. He has also participated on IEN’s Sustainable Retirement Plans task force.


Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.unh.edu/give/about/unh-foundation-endowment

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.