Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 85.48
Liaison Emmanuelle Jodoin
Submission Date Dec. 6, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Université de Sherbrooke
PA-9: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.33 / 4.00 Véronique Bisaillon
Sustainable Development Education Advisor
Office of the Vice-President, Administration and Sustainable Development
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Option 1: Positive Sustainability Investment 

Does the institution wish to pursue Option 1 (positive sustainability investment)?:
No

Total value of the investment pool:
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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) 0 US/Canadian $
Green revolving loan funds that are 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:
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Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
0

Option 2: Investor Engagement 

Does the institution wish to pursue Option 2 (investor engagement)?:
Yes

Sustainable Investment Policy 

Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
Yes

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
PA9_Pol_Sust_Inv.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
The Investment Policy, adopted in June 2018, includes a section on sustainable investment (section 4). It is publicly posted on the University's Foundation website and can be accessed here (last document of that page): https://www.usherbrooke.ca/lafondation/la-fondation/documents-officiels/

None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
Yes

None
A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:
As it is integrated to the investment policy, the equity benchmark from asset allocation policy reference portfolio as changed to become an “ex-coal” equity benchmark, as calculated by the MSCI family indexes. The University now requests from all its managers to disclose their assets in companies that have proven reserve of coal and that are actively exploiting them.

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:
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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

None
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
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Negative Screens / Divestment Efforts 

Does the institution have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
Two fund managers have excluded companies from their portfolios: 1. Ex-coal, ex-weapon and ex-tobacco rules are applied by the institution’s Canadian equity manager (17%); 2. Ex-weapons and ex-tobacco rules are applied by the institution’s Global Equity Manager (23%).

None
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
40

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:
PIAC (Pension Investment Association of Canada): Bi-annual conferences are prepared by other pension plans permanent staff for the benefits of the members that address Sustainable Investment from time to time. CAUBO (Canadian Association of University Business Officers): An annual conference that targets pension and endowment investment issues, including sustainable investment matters. UN PRI Signatories (October 2018) and UN PRI Québec annual conference: The University participated to the event for the last 4 years out of 5 events proposed. Intentional Endowment Network (in the United States): Membership confirmed in March 2019.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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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