Dear members of the McGill community,
I am writing to share some good news about the University’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of McGill’s endowment investments.
As you may know, three years ago the McGill Board of Governors approved a five-year, eight-point Socially Responsible Investing strategy, with the overall goal of substantially reducing the carbon emissions of our investments.
Today, I’m pleased to let you know that all the targets laid out in the strategy have been reached, two years ahead of schedule. What’s more, in doing so, the carbon impact of the endowment has been cut in half, effectively eliminating 73,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, the equivalent of removing more than 14,000 gas-powered vehicles from the road.
An important component of the strategy has been to significantly divest holdings in carbon-intensive companies, particularly fossil fuel producers, cement and steel manufacturers and coal and gas-fired electricity generators. As a result, less than one per cent of our endowment now includes exposure to the Carbon Underground 200 listing of the top publicly traded coal, oil, and gas reserve holders globally.
We have also taken steps to ensure more of our investments generate positive social and environmental impacts. In the past year, the University committed $30 million into a Private Equity Impact fund, which supports initiatives in health and wellbeing, fighting climate change, education, and financial inclusion. This brings the total value of McGill’s impact investments to $140 million, or 7.8% of our endowment.
In addition, we have continued to promote our Fossil Fuel-Free fund to potential donors and have received $4 million in new contributions over the last year alone, growing the fund by approximately 45% to $12.7 million.
You can read more details about these important achievements in the 2022 Investment Committee Report on Socially Responsible Investing, which was presented to the Board of Governors yesterday and is now available on the McGill Office of Investments website.
In considering the report, the Board of Governors expressed its gratitude for the hard work of our Chief Investment Officer, Sophie Leblanc, and the team in the McGill Office of Investments.
The Board also launched an immediate review of the investment strategy, with the goal of setting ambitious new targets to achieve even greater impacts in the years ahead.
Reaching our sustainable investing targets is an important milestone, but we cannot afford to be complacent in the face of the mounting climate crisis. Universities have a unique responsibility to help society transition to a more sustainable future, and I look forward to engaging with the McGill community to hear your ideas and perspectives on how we can make an even greater impact, including achieving carbon neutrality across our operations by 2040.
Sincerely,
Deep Saini
Principal and Vice-Chancellor
McGill University