Amherst College
PA-4: Sustainable Investment Program

4.1 Sustainable investment policy or committee

An institution earns 2 points when it has formally incorporated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and/or climate risk as material issues to be considered when making investment decisions, as evidenced by a published policy or directive and/or a committee on investor responsibility (CIR).

Measurement

Report on current sustainable investment policies and directives and/or currently active committees.

4.2 Negative screening and divestment

An institution earns 1 point when it employs negative screening and/or targeted divestment in support of sustainability, as evidenced by a published policy or directive or a public commitment.

Measurement

Report on current policies and directives and/or public commitments made by the institution.

4.3 Investor engagement 

An institution earns 1 point when it A) has engaged in proxy voting in support of sustainability during the previous three years, B) has filed one or more shareholder resolutions or signed on to one or more investor statements in support of sustainability during the previous three years, and C) is an active participant in one or more sustainability or ESG-focused investor networks. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report on activities from within the previous three years.

Applicable to institutions with investment pools of $1 million US Dollars (USD) or more.