Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 54.11
Liaison Sarah Williams
Submission Date Feb. 7, 2020

STARS v2.2

Whitman College
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.42 / 4.00 Elissa Brown
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability, Physical Plant Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
565,255,655 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) 7,650,063 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:
The College invests in two private equity funds focused on sustainable-minded businesses.

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
1.35

Part 2. Investor engagement

Sustainable investment policy 

Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
No

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
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None
The sustainable investment policy:
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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:
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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

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:
Whitman's board of trustees committed in November 2018 to divest from any fossil fuel reserve companies listed as part of the Carbon Underground 200. At the time of that decision, the College’s endowment had an approximate 0.92% exposure to those fossil fuel companies. As of June 2019, this exposure had dropped to 0.51%, as Whitman gradually reduces its exposure from these companies through our investment managers. https://www.whitman.edu/Documents/Offices/Treasurer's%20Office/nov-2018-fossil-fuel-divestment.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0PGdOUdFxJ5uLI_KrI4Cj0k2NxY6AcsQt6Qpz-liicArR4opLNUX84nhU

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?:
No

None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
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Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.whitman.edu/chief-financial-officer/endowment-divestment-policy

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.