Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.78
Liaison Emily Vollmer
Submission Date Feb. 18, 2021

STARS v2.2

Virginia Tech
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.08 / 5.00 John Cusimano
University Treasurer and Associate Vice President for Finance
Virginia Tech Foundation
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
1,246,765,959 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g., renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 4,101,381 US/Canadian $
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g., using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) 0 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 7,431,442 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:
Sustainable industries (e.g., renewable energy or sustainable forestry): The foundation’s investments in sustainable assets and initiatives vary through time. Current estimates are that several different industries represent over $4.1 million in sustainable, renewable or responsibly motivated endeavors. These include no till farming for food crops with a focus on responsible farming including steps to obtain Responsible Soy certification. Ownership in ecologically friendly power generation facilities that includes industry leading technology that can store and recycle energy on an emissions-free basis, as well as a biomass facility that sells green power to a rural cooperative that uses native renewable fuel. Most of these interests are ordinarily private and long-lived assets held within the broader portfolio for the economic benefit of the Foundation.

Community development financial institutions (CDFI) or the equivalent (including funds that invest primarily in CDFIs or the equivalent): Currently, the Foundation has $7,431,442 of actual CDFI investments with an additional $4,931,369 that is committed to CDFI investments, but not yet invested. With regard to the CDFI’s, the university-related Virginia Tech Foundation has allocated up to $38M of its endowment to program-related investments to advance the programmatic goals of the institution. The objective is to invest in local and regional companies that are underserved by conventional lending institutions. The fund is designed to assist the university community in technology transfer; to grow and strengthen the diversity of the Foundation’s Corporate Research Center; and to help bridge the gap between angel funding and institutional investors for regional entrepreneurs.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
0.93

Part 2. Investor engagement

Sustainable investment policy 

Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
No

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
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None
The sustainable investment policy:
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None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
No

A brief description of how the sustainable investment policy is applied:
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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:
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None
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
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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:
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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:
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Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
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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?:
No

None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
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Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Copy_of_Sustainable_and_CDFI_Investments_002.xlsx

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.