Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 60.54
Liaison Jane Stewart
Submission Date March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Washington and Lee University
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.83 / 5.00 Steven McAllister
VP for Finance/Treasurer
Treasurers Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
1,350,000,000 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) 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 0 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 investment pool is less than the total university endowement because the university benefits from outside trust distributions, incuding, most signifantly from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation Trust. While the insitution recieves significant income from the distributions, W&L does not control and manage investment of the funds. 


Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
0

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:
makena-esg-policy-2023.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:

W&L's investments are managed by Maken Capital Management. According to their attached policy, they focus on the below ESG concerns:


"Environmental Practices
We monitor our environmental impact and encourage the use of robust environmental practices by our managers. Common themes include:


o Carbon and greenhouse gas emissions
o Resource depletion
o Water scarcity
o Hazardous waste disposal


Social Impact
We are committed to building a multi-generational firm which requires investment in and the development of our employees. The firm fosters a culture of high moral and ethical standards. We seek partnerships with managers whose objectives and culture are aligned with our own. Social attributes we review include:
o Corporate Culture
o Health & safety
o Data privacy
o Gender & Racial Diversity
Corporate Governance
We aim to run our business with ethical corporate governance and place the utmost importance on transparent and responsible reporting to all stakeholders. We partner with managers who share these values, and we regularly evaluate:
o Alignment of shareholder and management interests
o Ethics & integrity
o Transparency
o Composition and structure of governance"


As Makena operates on W&L's behalf in managing institution investments, it is the feeling of our Finance division that this policy serves as W&L's policy by extension. Although we are working on steps to create Univesity-specific language, the investment practices are currently managed by the principles outlined in the Makena policy.      


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:
---

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:
---

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:

Through Makena we are engaged with CERES, UN PRI and Boston Consulting Group ESG Data Convergence Initiative


Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.makenacap.com/how-we-invest-b/#sustainable-investing

Additional documentation to support the submission:
2023-makena-sustainability-report.pdf

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.