| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.69 |
| Liaison | Rochelle Owen |
| Submission Date | April 6, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Dalhousie University
PA-9: Sustainable Investment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.54 / 4.00 |
Does the institution wish to pursue Option 1 (positive sustainability investment)?:
Total value of the investment pool:
Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
| Value of Holdings | |
| Sustainable industries (e.g. renewable energy or sustainable forestry) | 3,800,000 US/Canadian $ |
| Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g. using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) | 101,500,000 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 $ |
A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
At Dalhousie:
• 24 out of 25 funds managers representing 90% of our funds have formal (online) ESG policies and or/ are signatories to the UNPRI
• ESG factors are included in the assessments of investment opportunities. Reports on ESG factors are provided to the Dalhousie Investment Committee. Managers use their own rating systems and services such as Sustainalytics. Strategies include selecting companies that are performing well to meet return targets and factors such as ESG. No negative screen is being used (ex. Divestment policy).
• The University does not currently have an internal rating system or framework for what constitutes exemplary business sustainability performance thus the following proxy calculation has been created. At Dalhousie all investment decisions should be including ESG factors.
o 90% of funds will be included as the base number as 10% of our funds are not being managed by a firm that has from ESG policies. (525.6 million)
o The 2018 Ceres - Corporate Progress on the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability was used to assess exemplary status. Nine of the 10 criteria listed in the report was analyzed. The last criteria of senior level accountability was not included as it was achieved by almost 100% of companies. The performance percentage of companies who made more refined commitments and actions were included. The total created indices resulted in 22% being in the exemplary category (above average/leadership). In educational rating systems A or 80% or higher is considered exemplary (20%).
o 20% was applied to 525.6 million to arrive at $105,300,000 value. The renewable energy investment stocks previously reported were taken off this amount for a final total of 101,500,000
Information on investment types and managers is available in the annual investment report:
See additional reports:
http://www.dal.ca/dept/university_secretariat/board_of_governors/reports.html
Community development financial institutions (CDFI) or the equivalent:
No CDFI holdings as The University does not benefit from this tax investment strategy
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens or the equivalent:
Do not invest in mutual funds.
Green revolving loan funds
$0 from the endowment; however, money is invested annually from operations related funding for on-campus sustainability projects. Since 2009, $93 million has been invested in sustainability related projects.
Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
Does the institution wish to pursue Option 2 (investor engagement)?:
Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
The sustainable investment policy:
Environmental, Social and governance principles (ESG) are incorporated in the University’s investment policy. Five clauses in the policy highlight specific action around ESG that this committee addresses. They include:
“5.7 The Endowment Funds shall be invested in a manner to maximize risk adjusted returns. Dalhousie University believes that over the long term, companies that exhibit responsible corporate behavior with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors will have a positive impact on long-term financial performance. The assessment of ESG factors along with the assessment of the business, management and financial metrics will enhance the identification of good investment opportunities and to help mitigate risk to the Endowment Funds.
5.8 The Endowment Funds will encourage its external investment managers to develop and enhance their ESG assessment capabilities. The Administration will include ESG assessment progress and capabilities in each investment manager’s annual review.
5.9 The Endowment Funds will include ESG assessment capabilities when evaluating investment managers for new mandates.
13.6 The Investment Committee or Administration will require the Investment Managers to provide a summary of how proxies have been voted. This report shall also disclose any ESG issues that may have arisen and how this ESG issue has impacted positively or negatively the exercise of any proxy vote
15. 2 b. Investments i. Confirm adherence to policy guidelines (compliance report) ii. Provide any comments or suggestions regarding constraints, guidelines, etc. iii. Discuss any changes to investment strategy or process iv. Report on any environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks they have discovered in their portfolio. The report shall also include information on any ESG issues that have been identified and discussed with the management of any of the companies that are in the portfolio or information on ESG issues that are made available through industry publications or events.”
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
A brief description of how the policy is applied, including recent examples:
In the Dalhousie University’s investment policy section 5.8 identifies “The Endowment Funds will encourage its external investment managers to develop and enhance their ESG assessment capabilities. The Administration will include ESG assessment progress and capabilities in each investment manager’s annual review.”
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?:
A copy of the proxy voting guidelines or proxy record:
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
The Investment Policy provides direction for investment managers to report on ESG proxy voting. “Section - 13.6 The Investment Committee or Administration will require the Investment Managers to provide a summary of how proxies have been voted. This report shall also disclose any ESG issues that may have arisen and how this ESG issue has impacted positively or negatively the exercise of any proxy vote” Ex. votes related to climate change
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?:
Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
Does the institution have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
Dalhousie encourages external investment managers to include ESG factors in their evaluations. Managers do not utilize negative screening
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
Does the institution engage in policy advocacy by participating in investor networks and/or engage in inter-organizational collaborations to share best practices?:
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
Dalhousie participates in the Responsible Investing Association and CAUBO sessions on sustainable investment and other conferences as on-going.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.