The Intentional Endowments Network -- formal launch & founding members

Yesterday we announced the Founding Member group of the Intentional Endowment Network (IEN), the initiative I've been working on for the past couple of years.

This project grew out of an initial forum held in Boston partnership with Hampshire College in April 2014. It was clear from that event that an ongoing network to serve as a venue for learning and collaboration was necessary to help colleges and universities tackle sustainable and ESG investing in their endowments.

After 18-months of what was essentially a pilot phase, we're thrilled with the nearly 80 institutions that have joined on as the core group to more formally launch this initiative.

Please check out and share the press release (also pasted below).

Higher education and the financial system are two of the most influential sectors of our society. The former shapes and reinforces the mental models and modes of thinking for most of our leaders and professionals. The latter shapes our business models and modes of development. By working at the intersection of the two to integrate the goal of creating a healthy, just, and sustainable society, this network holds the promise of having a profound positive impact on the world, now and for generations to come.

--

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

77 Founding Members Launch the Intentional Endowments Network to Support Growing Interest in ESG Investing 

Boston, MA (March 14, 2016) – The Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) today announced the launch of a peer network designed to support endowment investment practices that address environmental, social, governance (ESG) and sustainability factors in order to enhance financial returns and align with institutional mission and values. The network launched with 77 Founding Members including 27 asset owners. 

Founding Members include: Arizona State University, ASU Foundation, Becker College, California State University, Calvert Investments, Carleton College, Hampshire College, Hanley Foundation, Litterman Family Foundation, Middlebury College, Portland State University, San Francisco State University Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, UBS Asset Management, University of Maine and University of Massachusetts Foundation. Regular membership enrollment is now open to all endowments, foundations and practitioners of ESG and sustainable investing. For more details, visit www.intentionalendowments.org/membership.

“The California State University is committed to staying informed and educated in ways that support a sustainable future,” said Garrett Ashley, Vice Chancellor of University Relations and Advancement at The CSU “each of our 23 campuses has unique needs and requires that we are thoughtful when making investment decisions. The Intentional Endowments Network is an invaluable resource for endowments and other investors designed to make good stewardship the norm.” 

“Colleges and universities have been leaders in advancing sustainability through education, research, campus operations and community engagement. Now, they are leveraging the financial and social capital of their endowments to support those efforts by taking a more comprehensive approach to sustainability risks and opportunities in the investment process,” said Anthony Cortese, Co-Founder of IEN, and former President of Second Nature, Dean at Tufts University, and Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

To support the development of intentionally designed endowments – that consider institutional mission, values, and sustainability risks and opportunities – the network facilitates peer-to-peer connection and learning, thought leadership, and collaborative action. A Steering Committee composed of leaders from higher education, non-profit organizations and the investment industry guides IEN’s work. Collectively, the network identifies practical options for administrators and trustees to successfully enhance their institutions’ approach to sustainable investment and address stakeholders’ concerns.

“There are many important considerations in managing endowments. Increasingly, investors are coming to see climate change, human rights abuses, and other social and environmental challenges as material investment risks,” said Jonathan Lash, President of Hampshire College. “Regardless of how endowments ultimately decide to address these risks, all should be intentional in considering them and fostering educational dialogues on campus about them.”

“Because of the enthusiastic response from endowments and the investment community during IEN’s eighteen-month pilot phase we are now substantially expanding our activities in 2016,” said Georges Dyer, Co-Founder of IEN. The network will host interactive, action-oriented forums for senior decision makers in Chicago and San Francisco. It will enable endowments to support implementation of the Paris Climate Agreements, and host a webinar series to inform endowments on industry developments. The network will publish articles and reports on sustainable investing topics such as fiduciary duty, shareholder engagement, and financial performance, for trustees and other decision makers.

“Endowments have a unique opportunity, where doing the right thing for the climate – reducing stranded carbon asset risk and investing in solutions – is also the smart thing for their investment portfolios,” said Bob Litterman, Litterman Family Foundation and Chair of the Risk Committee at Kepos Capital, LP. “The Intentional Endowments Network is the venue for finding the best ways to take advantage of these opportunities.”

  

About the Intentional Endowments Network

The Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) is a collaborative network advancing intentionally designed endowments through a variety of strategies – including ESG integration, impact investing, shareholder engagement – that will make a significant and critical contribution to creating a healthy, just, and sustainable society.  It supports colleges, universities, and other mission-driven organizations in aligning their endowment investment practices with their mission, values, and sustainability goals without sacrificing financial returns. IEN is an initiative of The Crane Institute of Sustainability, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit. It is coordinated by Georges Dyer and Tony Cortese and based in Boston, MA. 

www.intentionalendowments.org

About the IEN Team: www.intentionalendowments.org/team

--

Stay going. 

-- 

2014 HBCU Green Report

The second survey of Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) -- the 2014 HBCU Green Report -- was recently released by the Building Green Initiative at Clark Atlanta University.

The report finds a "green revolution" is underway at HBCUs, despite the fact that these efforts are not sufficiently covered in mainstream higher education, sustainability, or media outlets.  Forty-three institutions participated in the survey that yielded the data for the report. These institutions are active in the five focus areas covered: administration, green building, student involvement, food and recycling, and climate change and energy.

The report found that HBCUs are also recognizing that strategic sustainability plans can benefit the bottom line.  Highlighted projects include UMD Eastern Shore's solar farm - the largest concentration of PV panels on one site in Maryland, a LEED Gold renovation at Spelman College, a new Sustainability Institute at Florida A&M, the conversion of the football field to an organic farm at Paul Quinn College, and a commitment to a 20% reduction in energy use over 5 years at Clark Atlanta.

CAU President, Dr. Carlton Brown states in the report: "Long before the world fully grasped the urgent need to address climate change, Clark Atlanta University’s (CAU) Environmental Justice Resource Center provided leadership in documenting and addressing industrial pollution practices that disproportionately impacted communities of color... This work evolved into a global movement for climate justice. Climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing the global family today and special mission institutions like CAU have a unique role to play in crafting triple bottom line solutions that transform challenged under-served communities into healthy, vibrant livable neighborhoods."

The Building Green Initiative's report is a great source for learning more about how HBCUs across the country are working to do just that.

Stay going.

-

Education for the New Normal

NASA Satellite Image (NASA/Getty Images)

If there’s a silver lining to be found on the massive cloud that covered the better part of the eastern US last month, it’s this: people are talking seriously about real risks of climate change. 

From provocative headlines (“It’s Global Warming, Stupid”, Bloomberg Businessweek) to carefully selecting language and asking the right questions (“On Hurricanes…”, Dot Earth) — people are talking about climate change in ways we haven’t seen before.

For whatever reasons, Katrina, Ike, Snowpocalypse, Irene, the wildfires, the droughts, the warmest month on record — and the many other extreme weather events of recent years — failed to get people to really connect the dots between extreme weather and climate change.   

Thoughtful experts are having important conversations about whether climate change caused Sandy, or strengthened Sandy, or made Sandy more likely, or had anything to do with Sandy. But everyone seems to finally agree that we need to be prepared for more extreme events like Sandy. 

I believe the “super storm” — with its implications for presidential politics — will serve to condense the disparate events of recent years into a popular awareness that we are in a “New Normal” regarding the climate. The images of submerged New Jersey neighborhoods, exploding power plants, vehicles floating down Manhattan avenues will change our country’s collective consciousness for good.  Rising oceans will no longer be punch lines.

As we assess the damage to people in our communities, our infrastructure, and our economy, we will have the opportunity to reassess how we prepare for the impacts of climate change.  Whose responsibility is it to make sure we’re ready? Most probably think government, community groups, and maybe business should take this on.

But leadership from another sector — higher education — is also critical.

We know the importance of emergency preparedness: anticipating the risks, alerting people, and evacuating vulnerable areas. We know we need comprehensive and effective response plans. We will need to put up seawalls, restore natural barriers, and simply abandon certain parts of the coast.  This recent TED talk by Vicki Arroyo, Executive Director of the Georgetown Climate Center, provides a good overview of these and other climate adaptation strategies.

We also need to make some more fundamental shifts in how we design our communities, generate energy, produce and transport goods, and generally go about meeting our needs.

Colleges and universities have a unique responsibility in preparing society for this New Normal.  In many ways, they are already fulfilling that role, particularly when it comes to reducing climate change pollution. More than 660 colleges are actively participating in the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). They are publicly reporting progress on climate action plans; providing education, research, and community engagement on climate; and pursuing net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from campus operations. Together they represent over 6 million students, offer 10,000 sustainability-related courses, and have avoided 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (reducing emissions 25% on average) in the past five years. 

With regard to climate adaptation, much of the research that helps us understand climate change impacts, and strategies for dealing with them, comes from our country’s universities.  There are early signs that climate preparedness is making its way into the classroom, and some instances of campus-community collaboration around implementing adaptation strategies.

Last year, I facilitated a group of higher education leaders, scientists, and sustainability experts, in developing Higher Education’s Role in Adapting to a Changing Climate.  The report provides an overview of trends in the sector and some exciting examples of what’s happening individual campuses.  But the group concluded that higher education institutions “as a whole, have not focused on adaptation sufficiently to date.”

In addition to more research, colleges and universities have opportunities to experiment and role-model solutions on their campuses, and partner with local communities to implement successful strategies more broadly.  Perhaps most importantly, they have the opportunity — and responsibility ­— to ensure that all graduates, from all disciplines, understand the climate challenge and are prepared to lead society through it.

Weather they become politicians or office administrators, architects or CEOs, artists or engineers; all citizens need to understand our new climate. And they must be prepared to minimize the drivers of further climate change, while creating safer communities and more resilient economies.

Stay going. 
...

Hampshire College - 10 Green Things

A very cute video on sustainability initiatives at Hampshire College (including a shout out to their president Jonathan Lash's leadership through the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment - check out their GHG inventories and climate action plan here):


Stay going.