Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 63.24
Liaison Victoria Ho
Submission Date Feb. 8, 2024

STARS v2.2

OCAD University
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.95 / 3.00 Peter Fraser
Director
Finance
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
55,427,201 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) 2,193,885 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:

A pooled climate change fund held by GMO LLC.


Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
3.96

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:
---

None
The sustainable investment policy:

https://www.ocadu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Statement%20of%20Investment%20Policies%20and%20Guidelines%20for%20OCAD%20University(030617)((final%20approved%20by%20Board).pdf


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 University supports the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing initiative. The University’s support for the UN Principles will be enacted through an evaluation process of its current and future Investment Managers based on their consideration of the United Nations Six Principles of Responsible Investing. The process of evaluation will be developed after research into existing and best practices. The investment manager questionnaire completed in October 2021 consisted of 27 questions included 3 questions on ESG investing. Board of Governors Meeting Minutes - March 21, 2021: The Investment Committee Chair provided a report to the Board on the Investment Committee meeting held on January 26, 2021. He provided an update on the GMO Climate Change Fund that was approved by the Board at the December 2018 meeting, noting that the Fund reported a return of 42.86% in the past year and 31.67% since inception. He added that a more detailed presentation on the topic of ESG factors in investment decision-making and an update on the performance of the Fund will be made to the Board at a future meeting. https://www.ocadu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/governance/MINUTES%20Board%20of%20Governors%20Meeting%20March%2015%2C%202021(051021)(final%20-%20public).pdf


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:
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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:

The University transferred a portion of the endowment into a climate change fund (GMO LLP). The GMO Climate Change Strategy seeks to deliver high total return by investing primarily in equities of companies GMO believes are positioned to benefit, directly or indirectly, from efforts to curb or mitigate the long-term effects of global climate change, to address the environmental challenges presented by global climate change, or to improve the efficiency of resource consumption.


Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
10

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:

OCAD University is a member of the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) as well as the Council of Ontario Financial Officers (COFO). OCADU participates in the annual investment survey and the Director of Finance has participated in a seminar on ESG investing in the last year. CAUBO also posted various webinars for the university sector on best practices and also have policy papers on ESG on their website. https://www.caubo.ca/knowledge-centre/learningevents/webinars/


Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.ocadu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Statement%20of%20Investment%20Policies%20and%20Guidelines%20for%20OCAD%20University(030617)((final%20approved%20by%20Board).pdf

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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