Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.13
Liaison John Alejandro
Submission Date March 24, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of San Diego
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.99 / 4.00 Alison Sanchirico
Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
653,650,000 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g., renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 58,175,000 US/Canadian $
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g., using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) 35,297,000 US/Canadian $
Sustainability investment funds (e.g., a renewable energy or impact investment fund) 3,268,000 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:
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance are those with AAA or AA MSCI ESG ratings. DBL Partners makes venture capital investments in companies focused on clean technology, sustainability, health care, and information technology. In addition to targeting financial returns, the manager will seek to help companies deliver social, environmental, and economic benefits to low- and moderate-income areas. The scope of this work includes providing public policy assistance, aiding in workforce development, and promoting community engagement. Vision Ridge invests in sustainable real assets that will derive value from optimizing the use of natural resources through efficiency and restoration. Vision Ridge provides transparent and consistent impact reporting on relevant metrics including CO2 reductions, land improvements, jobs created and organizations served highlighting the value created in the fund beyond financial returns.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
14.80

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:
INT-12_Investment_Policy_Statement_Final_5.2.19.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
---

None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
No

A brief description of how the sustainable investment policy is applied:
---

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:
USD performs negative screenings of direct investments in relation to the social responsibility clause and regularly monitor direct investments. Any new investment managers are expected to adhere to the clause and if/when a questionable investment comes up they are to contact the University. This has happened at least once in the last year.

USD also hold many commingled funds (hedge, LP’s, etc) that don't always share the underlying investments and of which USD has no direct control. However, the University shares the social responsibility clause with all potential investment managers and monitor those that they have direct control over on a regular basis.

Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
12.70

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:
USD is a member of the Intentional Endowments Network, through which we are able to share and learn best practices.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.