Location: Sayles 253
Time: 12:00 am
Present David Coleman, Vicky Wu, Robert Harris III, Doug Marshall, David Alberg, Fred Rogers, Anil Methipara, Melissa Thomas
Secretary: Jenna Greene
Introductions
CRIC Introduction/Background
- Mission statement: “to advise the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees via the Vice President and Treasurer regarding ethical, social, and environmental issues that arise in the management of the college endowment”
- Review of Investment Committee’s role on the Board of Trustees
- Direct Holdings vs Comingled funds
- Shareholder resolutions, proxy voting on resolutions
- Resolutions presented at annual meetings
- Review of last year’s topics
- Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement
- Divestment taskforce, research on investment methods that keep climate change in mind
- ESG investing – rates companies based on environmental, social, and governance issues
Divestment Recommendation
Three part
- Formal ESG policy
- Focus more on environmental concerns in investment
- Divest from fossil fuel companies
- Majority opinion: divest from TOP 200 fossil fuel companies (based on reserves)
- Minority opinion: divest from top 100 coal companies
- Currently in our last iteration of final draft of report
- BoT meeting in late October, may or may not respond to recommendation
Timeline
Organized proxy voting in the fall, work done over winter break, Board meeting in February (we will give our materials to them by the date of their meeting)