Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.39
Liaison Patrice Langevin
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

Pitzer College
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.26 / 3.00 Susan Phillips
Director
Robert Redford Conservancy
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
163,900,000 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g., renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 6,200,000 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) 2,200,000 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:
1) BlackRock MScI ACWI Ex-Fossil Fuels ESG Focus Fund
2) Mercer Private Investment Partners III and IV Sustainable Opportunities

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
5.13

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:
---

None
The sustainable investment policy:
Responsible Investment: Pursuant to the Board's April 2014 decision, the Committee will take the following objectives into account in its ongoing Endowment portfolio implementation.
Fossil Fuel Divestment- To the extent deemed practical by committee, the Endowment will not invest in the publicly traded stocks of fossil fuel producer companies.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Factors - To the extent deemed practical by committee, the Endowment will consider ESG factors-in its investment decision making.
Sustainability Fund- Endowment contributions earmarked for the "Sustainability Fund"

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:
Commingled funds are selected based on how they fit the sustainability goals as set forth in the Endowment investment policy statement.

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?:
Yes

None
A copy of the proxy voting guidelines or proxy record:
---

None
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
Pitzer is founding investor of MSCI ACWI ex Fossil Fuels ESG Focus Index Fund B Black Rock votes proxies according to its sustainability criteria.

https://wwww.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/fact-sheet/blk-responsible-investment-guidelines-us.pdf
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/fact-sheet/blk-responsible-investment-guidelines-emea.pdf

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 fund engages via BlackRock's stewardship program See details:
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/publication/2022-investment-stewardship-voting-spotlight.pdf

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:
The College does not have any publicly held marketable fossil fuel investments. In 2014, the College became the first private college/university in California to divest its public equity portfolio from fossil fuel producers.

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?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
Pitzer College has taken an active role in the development of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN). The chair of Pitzer's board of trustees, Donald Gould, served as a founding member of IEN's Steering Committee (2015-2020), and our efforts and collaborations continue with this network today.
https://www.intentionalendowments.org/pitzer_college

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.intentionalendowment.org/pitzer_college

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
05.17.23: The percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments has been updated. The previous number was a typo.

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.