| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 71.86 |
| Liaison | Elida Erickson |
| Submission Date | March 23, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of California, Santa Cruz
PA-14: Sustainable Investment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.77 / 4.00 |
Elida
Erickson Sustainability Director Sustainability Office |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
Total value of the investment pool:
9,500,000,000
US/Canadian $
None
Value of holdings in each of the following categories::
| Value of Holdings | |
| Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) | 150,000,000 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) | 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 $ |
None
A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
Investments in sustainable forestry funds and clean energy investments via funds.
None
Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
Yes
None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
---
None
The sustainable investment policy:
http://www.ucop.edu/investment-office/sustainable-investment/index.html
See pdf at bottom of page.
http://www.ucop.edu/investment-office/sustainable-investment/sustainability-framework/index.html
None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
No
None
A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:
We are in the process of implementing this.We are soliciting the ESG policies of all of our external investment managers and communicating to them about our ESG policy and new restrictions for public securities they cannot buy on our behalf.
None
Does the institution's sustainable investment policy include negative screens?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
In addition to Regent policies, the Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents has opted to eliminate its holdings in firms whose primary business is coal mining, oil sands investment and development and private prison companies. The Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents also has a negative screen on securities of firms who manufacture guns for the U.S. market and who have not endorsed the Sandy Hook principles for responsible business. This disinvestment came after a careful internal ESG risk evaluation process under the new Sustainable Investing framework.
Regent Policy 6301: POLICY TO EXCLUDE SECURITIES OF COMPANIES MANUFACTURING TOBACCO PRODUCTS FROM INDEX FUNDS AND TO CONTINUE EXISTING EXCLUSION FROM ACTIVELY MANAGED FUNDS
http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/policies/6301.html
Regents Policy 6302: POLICY ON DIVESTMENT OF UNIVERSITY HOLDINGS IN COMPANIES WITH BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN SUDAN
http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/policies/6302.html
None
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
100
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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:
The University’s proxies are managed and voted by a third party service provider using their SRI proxy voting guidelines:
http://www.issgovernance.com/file/2014_Policies/2014ISSSRIUSAGuidelines.pdf & http://www.issgovernance.com/file/2014_Policies/2014SRIInternational.pdf
None
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?:
Yes
None
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
The UC Office of the Chief Investment Officer participated in a meeting hosted by the World Economic Forum on investors and climate risk, among other engagements with corporations.
The Office of the Chief Investment Officer is also collaborating in the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.
None
Does the institution engage in policy advocacy by participating in investor networks and/or engaging in inter-organizational collaborations to share best practices?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
UC is an active member of:
• Principles for Responsible Investment
• Ceres Investor Network on Climate Risk
• CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project)
Sustainability web content is under construction to share information about the UC sustainable investment efforts.
Participant: Breakthrough Energy Coalition
Participant: US Aligned Intermediary
None
The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable investment efforts is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
In 2015, UC Regents launched a framework on Sustainable Investing. The framework integrates risk evaluation on environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and prudent governance factors more systematically into its investment evaluation analysis. As part of this ESG analysis, the UC Regents decided to sell holdings in securities of companies engaged primarily in coal mining and firms focused on oil sands development and production. UC Regents Board of Trustees has not excluded these specific fossil fuel companies in a formal divestment policy. They have been screened based on financial analysis that the risk associated with these investments outweighs any potential financial benefits to our portfolio.
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.