Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 59.76
Liaison Lindsey MacDonald
Submission Date June 6, 2023

STARS v2.2

Western Washington University
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.75 / 3.00 Mark Brovak
Senior DIrector
University Advancement
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
132,253,000 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) 59,100,000 US/Canadian $
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) or the equivalent 0 US/Canadian $
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens (or the equivalent) 285,000 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:
Sustainability Investment: The Foundation invests in a proprietary institutional fund provided by our investment advisor, Russell Investments. This fund is called the Sustainable Multi-Asset Strategy Fund. The premise of the fund is that it reduces investments in companies that have either a high carbon reserves or high emissions so that the fund has less than 50% of carbon exposure compared to a traditional fund. These are then reinvested into companies that are tending toward more green energy solutions.

Socially Responsible Fund: The Green Century Balanced Fund seeks capital growth and income from a portfolio of stocks and bonds which meet Green Century Fund standards for corporate environmental responsibility. The Balanced Fund is an actively managed fund comprised of equities and fixed-income securities. It typically holds 60% to 75% of its net assets in multi-cap stocks and 25% to 40% in investment-grade quality bonds. The Green Century Balanced Funds seeks to invest in well-managed companies. The Balanced Fund also gives retail investors access to an institutional quality investment process from Trillium Asset Management, a leader in socially responsible investing since 1982. The Green Century Balanced Fund has avoided investing in coal, oil, and gas companies since 2008. It also does not invest in other environmentally harmful industries including tobacco, nuclear energy, factory farms, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and nuclear weapons. The Balanced Fund was an early investor in green bonds and now has over 67% of its fixed-income portfolio in green and sustainable bonds.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
44.90

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:
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None
The sustainable investment policy:
The Foundation has an Investment Policy Statement that includes a section on Social Responsibility.

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 investment advisor uses ESG screens to underweight and overweight certain equity investments so as to reduce the funds carbon reserves and carbon emissions.

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:
The institution has not, however, the investment advisor does actively vote proxys.

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:
---

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:
---

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:
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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.