Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.65
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date Aug. 9, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Pennsylvania
PA-9: Committee on Investor Responsibility

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) or equivalent body?:
Yes

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:

The Penn Social Responsibility Advisory Committee (Penn SRAC) advises the University Trustees and makes recommendations to the Trustee Proxy Voting Subcommittee of the Executive Committee concerning decisions on Proxy Voting. A Resolution to Establish Procedures for Proxy Voting was passed by the Executive Committee on May 15, 2003. The work of the committee is guided by the Statement on Responsibility Concerning Endowment Securities adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Penn SRAC advises the Trustee Proxy Voting Subcommittee and the President, with the following functions:
* Consider proposals from the University community regarding specific proxy voting, first determining whether or not there is an allegation of substantial social or environmental injury;
* Make clear and concise recommendations to the Trustee Proxy Voting Subcommittee, together with factual findings and analysis, for its consideration on how to vote proxies;
* Respond to specific requests from the Trustee Proxy Voting Subcommittee or President.
* The Social Responsibility Advisory Committee (SRAC) is composed of student, faculty, and staff representatives along with alumni representatives. SRAC designs shareholder engagement policies and practices that advocate improvements to the social and environmental performance of the companies in which Penn has holdings. Two of SRAC's Guiding Principles are related to Global Climate Change and Sustainability Reporting.
For more information, see https://secure.www.upenn.edu/secretary/SRAC.html


Does the CIR include academic staff representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include non-academic staff representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include student representation?:
Yes

Members of the CIR, including affiliations and role:

Penn SRAC consists of twelve voting members including:
* Four faculty members nominated by the Faculty Senate;
* Four students (two graduates and two undergraduates) nominated by the Undergraduate Assembly (one student), the Nominations and Elections Committee (one student), GAPSA (two students);
* Two alumni representatives appointed by the President;
* Two staff members appointed by the President.


Examples of CIR actions during the previous three years:

In the past three years, besides their proxy recommendations, the SRAC has revised two guidelines and added a new guideline.
*Sustainability Reporting: The University is committed to a comprehensive sustainable plan. Consistent with this support resolutions asking for sustainability reports at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information. Abstain if the company already publishes an annual sustainability report that addresses the major issues or if the proposal incurs unreasonable costs.


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 University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to reducing emissions and energy use, as stated in the 2019 "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0". This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY19/20 year and compares them to the FY09 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. 3.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.


The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to reducing emissions and energy use, as stated in the 2019 "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0". This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY19/20 year and compares them to the FY09 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. 3.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.

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.