Virginia Commonwealth University
PA-9: Committee on Investor Responsibility

Institution has a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) or equivalent body that makes recommendations to fund decision-makers on socially and environmentally responsible investment opportunities across asset classes, including proxy voting (if the institution engages in proxy voting). The body has multi-stakeholder representation, which means its membership includes academic staff, non-academic staff, and/or students (and may also include alumni, trustees, and/or other parties).

An institution for which investments are handled by the university system and/or a separate foundation of the institution should report on the investment policies and activities of those entities.

A general committee that oversees the institution’s investments does not count for this credit unless social and environmental responsibility is an explicit part of its mission and/or a regular part of its agenda.

This credit recognizes committees that that regularly make recommendations to fund decision-makers on the institution’s external investments. Committees that only have within their purview green revolving loan funds or similar initiatives to fund campus infrastructure improvements and sustainability committees that occasionally make recommendations to fund decision-makers do not count. Student-managed sustainable investment funds, green fees and revolving funds, and sustainable microfinance initiatives are covered in the Student Life credit in Campus Engagement.

This credit applies to institutions with endowments of $1 million (US/Canadian) or larger. Institutions with endowments totaling less than $1 million may choose to mark this credit as Not Applicable.  

An institution earns the maximum of 2 points available for this credit for having a CIR or equivalent body that has multi-stakeholder representation (including academic staff, non-academic staff, and students) and otherwise meets the criteria outlined above. Partial points are available for institutions that have a CIR that otherwise meets the criteria, but does not include all stakeholders, as follows:

Timeframe

Report on current committee composition and practices at the time of submission.  

Sampling and Data Standards

Not applicable.