| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.08 |
| Liaison | Jamey Pavey |
| Submission Date | Feb. 26, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Earlham College
PA-14: Sustainable Investment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.08 / 4.00 |
Phil
Morgan Director of Investments Business Office |
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) | 5,000,000 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 $ |
A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
The investments listed include public stock holdings in forestry product firms and REITs that practice renewable forestry, waste management/recycling firms and manufacturers of wind and solar power generation products.
It also includes private equity and venture capital investments in solar engineering/construction firms, developers of utility scale solar and wind projects, recyclers of organic materials and clean-tech companies.
We don’t have investments in mutual funds with positive screens, however, we have two public equity separate accounts (Earlham is the only investor, rather than a pooled fund) where negative screens are applied.
We haven’t filed or co-filed a shareholder resolution.
We have made inquiries to companies to determine of sales of certain items exceed the thresholds of the negative screens outlined in the SRI Policy. We also contacted all of the publicly traded coal extraction companies to request their percentage of coal extraction from mountain top removal (note Earlham’s exposure to this practice is zero).
We don’t participate in investor networks.
Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
The sustainable investment policy:
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:
Does the institution's sustainable investment policy include negative screens?:
A brief description of the negative screens and how they have been implemented:
1. Peace: Screens related to Instruments of War
Because Quakers believe that warmaking is contrary to the desired order for which Friends have historically worked and witnessed, certain war-related companies are defined as outside the range of those companies in which Earlham desires to invest and derive profit.
2. Screens related to Simplicity
Because Earlham believes that certain behaviors are contrary to the desired order for which Friends have historically worked and witnessed, certain industries are defined to be outside the range of those in which Earlham desires to invest and derive profit. For these reasons, Earlham does not normally invest in securities of companies involved with tobacco, alcohol, and/or gambling.
Approximate percentage of the endowment that the negative screens apply to:
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:
For the accounts that are directly held securities, the director of investments for the college votes on proxies in accordance with Earlham's SRI policy. We do so on all securities that we have the ability/authority to do vote on.
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:
The college has made direct inquires to companies about their engagements with mountaintop removal coal mining, we have not yet engaged in shareholder resolutions to address this issue.
Does the institution engage in policy advocacy by participating in investor networks and/or engaging in inter-organizational collaborations to share best practices?:
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
The website URL where information about the institution's sustainable investment efforts is available:
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.