McGill’s Record so Far: 2019-2022

Context

In April 2020, McGill’s Board of Governors approved eight socially responsible investing (SRI) measures to be achieved within five years. 

In April 2023 – two years ahead of schedule – McGill’s Office of Investments reported that all performance targets had been achieved as of 2022. Notably, McGill has slashed the carbon footprint of its equity holdings by 49% since 2019, while increasing its contributions to impact investments and the Fossil Fuel Free Green Century Fund.

The annual reports of the Investment Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for 2020, 2021 and 2022 show the progress that has been made against each commitment during that time.

Given this extraordinary progress, the Board of Governors initiated a review of McGill’s SRI strategy two years earlier than planned, culminating in the adoption of even more ambitious SRI initiatives in December 2023.

SRI Achievements (2019-2022)

1. Reduce carbon emissions to 33% below benchmark

   As of 2022, the carbon emissions of the endowment equity portfolio are 36.6% below emissions generated by companies in the public equities benchmark.

   2019	2022
   11% below benchmark	36.6% below benchmark

2. Increase Impact Investments to 5% of endowment

   As of 2022, $143M was dedicated to impact investments, which generate positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. This included US$30M committed to a Private Equity Impact Fund in 2022, which brought the total to 7.8% of the endowment.

   2019	2022
   2% in Impact Investments	7.8% in Impact Investments (Investments + Commitments)

3. Increase amounts invested in the Fossil-Fuel Free Fund

   $4M in new commitments in 2022, growing the overall size of the Fossil-Free Fund by 45% to a total of $12.7M.

   2019	2022
   $8M	$12.7M (Investments + Commitments)

4. ESG integration

   The Statement of Investment Policy was amended to reflect Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals and objectives, and the number of fund managers that have adopted an ESG policy grew to 99%.

   2019	2022
   93% ESG integration by managers	99% ESG integration by managers

5. Investor engagement

   McGill hired SHARE as its shareholder engagement service provider to engage with the MIP’s portfolio companies on climate-related issues on its behalf. Through SHARE, McGill became one of the first members of the University Network for Investor Engagement (UNIE), a university-led initiative that amplifies the voices of shareholders in addressing the drivers of climate change.

   In 2022, SHARE intervened 125 times with 59 companies on topics such as reducing carbon emissions and sustainable finance.

6. Report on SRI progress annually

   Since the SRI strategy was adopted in 2020, a report has been presented to the Board of Governors and published each year.

7. Review SRI practices after 5 years

   As McGill achieved its SRI objectives two years ahead of its 2025 target date, the Board of Governors launched a review of SRI initiatives to identify even more ambitious objectives. This review culminated in the December 2023 decision to divest from direct holdings in CU200 fossil-fuel firms and other important sustainable investment measures.

8. Institutional leadership

   McGill worked with SHARE and 11 peer universities to develop an ESG due diligence questionnaire for investment managers. It also joined the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the leading global network for integrating ESG considerations into investment practices.

Reports

McGill Investment Committee Report on Socially Responsible Investing 2022

McGill Investment Committee Report on Socially Responsible Investing 2021

McGill Investment Committee Report on Socially Responsible Investing 2020