| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.74 |
| Liaison | Mike Wilson |
| Submission Date | Dec. 13, 2023 |
University of Victoria
PA-9: Committee on Investor Responsibility
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Raomond
Aoki Tresurer Treasury Office |
Does the institution have a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) or equivalent body?:
The charter or mission statement of the CIR or other body which reflects social and environmental concerns or a brief description of how the CIR is tasked to address social and environmental concerns:
The University of Victoria ("UVic") has two separate investment pools that have separate CIRs:
1. The UVic Working Capital Investments are used to support the growth of our university. The investment earnings help UVic undertake vital capital projects to improve sustainability, research and learning throughout UVic.
The goals of the UVic Working Capital Investments are to:
- preserve capital,
- provide liquidity by investing a portion of the funds in liquid short-term investments that can be converted to cash with no risk of principal loss,
- provide yield at a low level of volatility,
- maintain purchasing power, and
- achieve a commitment of investing at least 25% of the portfolio in thematic impact investments
The authorities and officers for the Investment Policy and the Responsible Investment Policy of the UVic Working Capital Investments are:
i) Approving Authority: Board of Governors of the University of Victoria
ii) Designated Executive Officer: Vice-President Finance and Operations of the University of Victoria
iii) Procedural Authority: Vice-President Finance and Operations of the University of Victoria
iv) Procedural Officer: Vice-President Finance and Operations of the University of Victoria
2. The UVic Foundation supports UVic in its mission to provide inspired teaching, opportunities for real-life learning and internationally renowned research. Through the UVic Foundation, a donor's vision and subsequent gift becomes a long-term investment that has far-reaching benefits for UVic in perpetuity.
The UVic Foundation was established in 1954 by the University of Victoria Foundation Act ("the Act"). It is responsible for administering over 1,500 endowment funds that disburse funds annually for scholarships, bursaries, and other university purposes. These endowment funds are supported by generous donations from individuals, corporations and foundations that play a vital role in promoting a continued interest in UVic and in higher education more broadly. The UVic Foundation is a registered charitable organization under the Income Tax Act and is exempt from income taxes.
The Act assigns responsibility for management of the UVic Foundation to the Board Members of the UVic Foundation which is a separate group than the Board of Governors of UVic.
The charter or mission statement of the CIRs that reflects the social and environmental concerns are the Responsible Investment Policies of each investment pool:
-UVic Working Capital Investments Responsible Investment Policy: https://www.uvic.ca/universitysecretary/assets/docs/policies/FM5215_1790_.pdf
-UVic Foundation Responsible Investment Policy: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/assets/docs/responsible_investment_policy.pdf
The ongoing execution of the Responsible Investment Policies are communicated in the Annual Responsible Investment Reports of each investment pool:
-UVic Working Capital Investments Annual Responsible Investment Reports: https://www.uvic.ca/vpfo/capitalinvestments/reports/index.php
-UVic Foundation Annual Responsible Investment Reports: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/reports/index.php
Does the CIR include academic staff representation?:
Does the CIR include non-academic staff representation?:
Does the CIR include student representation?:
Members of the CIR, including affiliations and role:
The members of the CIR of the UVic Working Capital Investments are UVic's Board of Governors:
https://www.uvic.ca/universitysecretary/governors/bios/index.php
The members of the CIR of the UVic Foundation are its Board Members:
https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/governance/index.php
Examples of CIR actions during the previous three years:
Please see the following press releases that have been issued in the past three years:
-June 18, 2020: UVic among 15 universities adopting climate charter: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+climate-charter+news
-July 27, 2020: Ground-breaking marks transition to construction phase of student housing and dining project: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+new-student-housing-dining+news
-September 3, 2020: UVic Law to build a National Centre for Indigenous Laws: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+indigenous-law-funding-ring+news
-September 15, 2020: Student Wellness Centre offers students one-stop support: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+student-wellness-centre-open+news
-December 7, 2020: UVic investment honours Indigenous economic reconciliation: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+raven-fund-investment+media-release
-February 2, 2021: UVic’s working capital fund goes fossil fuel free: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2021+capital-fund-fossilfree+media-release
-April 14, 2021: Transitioning to a Green Economy: the Climate Finance project: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2021+climate-finance+media-release
-May 5, 2021: Sustainable student housing takes shape: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2021+sustainable-student-housing-takes-shape+news
-September 30, 2021: UVic and the UVic Foundation have teamed up!: https://www.uvic.ca/vpfo/capitalinvestments/initiatives/joint-statement/index.php
-November 17, 2021: UVic Foundation - Fossil fuel stocks reduced--new decarbonization target for portfolio: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2021+fossil-stocks-reduced+media-release
-March 14, 2022: UVic Foundation expands impact investment with $25M in Brookfield fund: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/about/news/current/brookfield-fund-investment.php
-December 1, 2022: New Student Housing & Dining: https://www.uvic.ca/campusplanning/current-projects/new-student-housing/
Website URL where information about the institution’s committee on investor responsibility is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
As of September 29, 2023. This submission is provided as a general overview of the responsible investment approaches of the UVic Working Capital Investments and the UVic Foundation, and should not be constituted as advice and should not be relied upon as such, and is not a substitute for the skill, judgement and experience of any third parties, their management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions.
Other key documents relating to the UVic Working Capital Investments can be found here:
- Investment Policy: https://www.uvic.ca/universitysecretary/assets/docs/policies/FM5200_1480_.pdf
- Annual Portfolio Holdings Disclosures: https://www.uvic.ca/vpfo/capitalinvestments/reports/index.php
Additional information regarding the UVic Working Capital Investments can be found here: https://www.uvic.ca/vpfo/capitalinvestments/index.php
Other key documents relating to the UVic Foundation can be found here:
- Endowment Management and Spending Policy: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/assets/docs/endowment-management-policy-2022-11-22-uvic-foundation-8002.pdf
- Statement of Investment Policies and Guidelines: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/assets/docs/statement-of-investment-objectives-and-guidelines-20220621.pdf
- Annual Portfolio Holdings Disclosures and other reports: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/reports/index.php
Additional information regarding the UVic Foundation can be found here: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/index.php
As of September 29, 2023. This submission is provided as a general overview of the responsible investment approaches of the UVic Working Capital Investments and the UVic Foundation, and should not be constituted as advice and should not be relied upon as such, and is not a substitute for the skill, judgement and experience of any third parties, their management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions.
Other key documents relating to the UVic Working Capital Investments can be found here:
- Investment Policy: https://www.uvic.ca/universitysecretary/assets/docs/policies/FM5200_1480_.pdf
- Annual Portfolio Holdings Disclosures: https://www.uvic.ca/vpfo/capitalinvestments/reports/index.php
Additional information regarding the UVic Working Capital Investments can be found here: https://www.uvic.ca/vpfo/capitalinvestments/index.php
Other key documents relating to the UVic Foundation can be found here:
- Endowment Management and Spending Policy: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/assets/docs/endowment-management-policy-2022-11-22-uvic-foundation-8002.pdf
- Statement of Investment Policies and Guidelines: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/assets/docs/statement-of-investment-objectives-and-guidelines-20220621.pdf
- Annual Portfolio Holdings Disclosures and other reports: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/reports/index.php
Additional information regarding the UVic Foundation can be found here: https://www.uvic.ca/uvic-foundation/index.php
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.