Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.84
Liaison Andrew Horning
Submission Date Dec. 19, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Michigan
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.08 / 5.00 Andrew Horning
Managing Director
Graham Sustainability Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
17,700,000,000 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:
Unfortunately, the university does not track investments on these dimensions and is unable to report specific values in each category.

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:
PA10_Climate_Change_Investment_Related_Impacts_-_Final_03-2021.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
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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:
Examples:
The university divested from all companies included on the Carbon Underground 200 list and prohibits any new such investments.
The university has stopped investing in companies whose primary focus is oil reserves, oil extraction or thermal coal extraction.
The university is actively investing in funds that reduce the carbon footprint and support more efficient resource utilization.
The university is transitioning its endowment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

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:
PA11_FY2021_Proxy_Summaries_REDACTED.pdf

None
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
The university votes its proxies in the best financial interest of the university, which includes promoting sustainability as that is an increasingly important consideration for consumers.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the divestment effort or negative screens and how they have been implemented:
The following climate-change related investments impacts were approved by the Regents in March 2021:
1. The university will not directly invest in companies that are the largest contributors to greenhouse gases, currently defined as the top 100 coal and the top 100 oil and gas publicly traded reserve holders globally as compiled on the Carbon Underground 200TM list. The university does not currently hold any direct investments in such companies.
2. The university will not invest, and over the last decade has not invested, in companies that extract thermal coal or that extract oil from tar sands.
3. The university will not invest in funds whose primary focus is oil reserves, oil extraction, or thermal coal extraction.

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 of Michigan participates with various inter-organizational groups regarding ESG. Some of these groups have not yet been disclosed publicly as they are invite only. As a result, they remain confidential. We participate in periodic meetings (monthly, quarterly, etc.) and share best practices and existing hurdles regarding manager engagement, net zero road mapping, data integration, and other such topics. Additionally, we discuss regulatory changes and experience with current service providers. These working groups include similarly situated institutional investors, most of whom have made a net zero commitment or adopted other climate change-based policies.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts 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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