Hampshire Joins Launch of National Network for Mission-Driven Investing
Hampshire College, as a member of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN), recently helped launch a peer network to support endowment investment practices addressing environmental, social, governance (ESG) and sustainability factors to enhance financial returns and align with institutional mission and values.
The network launched with 77 Founding Members including 27 asset owners.
Other Founding Members include: Arizona State University, ASU Foundation, Becker College, California State University, Calvert Investments, Carleton 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.
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 Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash. “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.
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