Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.72
Liaison Roxane Beigel-Coryell
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

California State University, Channel Islands
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.40 / 3.00 Richard LeRoy
Senior Director of University Development
University Development
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
32,528,669 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) 10,694,324 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 Foundation prefers to invest with fund managers who have incorporated ESG and SRI principles in their investment processes. Investment managers that manage separate account portfolios for the Foundation are required to implement ESG and SRI issues within their investment processes in all new or renegotiated fund manager guidelines. Currently, the Foundation employs one manager that utilizes positive screens: Aperio Group (US Domestic Equity). As of June 30, 2022, the Aperio Group made up $10,694,324 of the university's portfolio. The CSU Channel Islands Social Profile through Aperio is utilized to tilt the portfolio towards companies whose values align with those of the Foundation and School. The Social profile includes the following investment themes: Environment, Human Rights, Diversity, Workforce, Governance. The companies are identified by Aperio as having positive impacts in each of those areas. The full social profile can be viewed on page 8 of the university's investment policy.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
32.88

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:
investment-policy-august2022.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:
The CSUCI Foundation recently started to transition to a new investment management firm. The investment managers use the investment policy to screen potential investments.

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:
Proxy voting is not permissible per the CSUCI Foundation bylaws.

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:
The Finance & Investment Committee has asked fund managers to provide information on screening tactics and various tilts.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the divestment effort or negative screens and how they have been implemented:
As stated in CSUCI's Investment Policy, the following companies/industries are to be excluded in the ESG/SRI implementation:
• Fossil fuel companies (oil, gas and consumable fuels)
• Companies that receive any revenue from the production of tobacco
• Companies involved in the production and distribution of civilian firearms
• Companies involved in predatory lending.

Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
100

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:
https://www.csuci.edu/ci-foundation/financial.htm

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
A copy of the university's detailed fund investment may be available upon request. We are working with the board of the University Foundation to receive approval to make this report publicly available in the future.

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.