Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.50
Liaison Derek Nichols
Submission Date May 17, 2022

STARS v2.2

University at Buffalo
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.67 / 5.00 Ryan McPherson
Chief Sustainability Officer
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
1,333,835,397 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) 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:
At this point a positive screen analysis has not been completed and thus we do not have that information to disclose.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
0

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:
Investments-Investment-Policy-Statement-June-2021.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
Please see section VI, page 5 which can also be accessed here: https://ub-foundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Investments-Investment-Policy-Statement-June-2021.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 Foundation's Investment Committee uses the following tools in making investment decisions:
*ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) factors. These include factors related to the quality and functioning of the environment, related to the right, well-being and interests of people and communities, and related to the governance of companies and other investee entities.
*ESG Integration: This entails explicitly and systematically evaluating ESG issues in investment analysis and identifying their role in managing investment risks and improving returns.
*Stewardship: Investors can encourage the companies they are already invested in to improve their ESG risk management or develop more sustainable business practices.

The Committee applies these tools thoughtfully and plausibly, giving weight to manager and asset class considerations and the materiality of the relevant Responsible Investment issue. The Committee recognizes that these issues are complicated, presenting some of the most challenging questions and problems of our time. Further, the Committee is committed to adapting its Responsible Investment considerations and tools as its understanding of issues evolves to ensure strong and ongoing alignment of investable assets and expression of Responsible Investment beliefs.

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:
---

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:
---

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:
After several years of due diligence, the Board of Trustees of the UB Foundation (UBF) Inc. announced in 2021 that its investment portfolio of U.S. public equities has divested from companies that derive revenues from fossil fuel. In addition, UBF will make no new investments in dedicated fossil fuel strategies. Please see http://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2021/04/divesting-fossil-fuels.html for more information.

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:
The University at Buffalo plays a key leadership role with the Collaboratory for a Regenerative Economy (CoRE) which is an integrated research, education and civic entrepreneurship initiative that links materials design with manufacturing technologies and investment. This work is integrated deeply with the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) which works to enhance shareholder value, public health and the environment through safer chemicals. The IEHN provides critical information to the University's Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility and our faculty also provide direct engagement in furthering IEHN's policy development.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://ub-foundation.org/who-we-are/board/committees/ubf-investment-committee/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
We are assuming that the "approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to (0-100)" refers to what percentage of the endowment is covered by this negative screen which is 100%.

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.