Other institutions such as Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and University of California, Oakland, had already revealed fossil-fuel divestment initiatives in 2020. But Harvard's announcement was followed by several similar announcements, including Boston University, which announced on Sept. 23 that its $3 billion endowment would immediately begin to divest from fossil fuels, and Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., which revealed in an Oct. 8 news release that it had decided in early 2020 to divest from fossil fuels.
Also disclosing a new policy to divest from fossil fuels was Loyola University Chicago, which CIO Katharine Wyatt said in a phone interview was connected very specifically to the university's primary mission.
Ms. Wyatt, who oversees the money management of Loyola's $1.1 billion endowment, said that upon her arrival at the Jesuit university in December 2018, the investment policy statement already contained a clause about mission integration at the time.
"We have always voted our proxies to give our separate account managers proxy voting in line with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. We've acknowledged some mission considerations and we'll take that into account," Ms. Wyatt said. "Meanwhile, the students have always been very active for fossil-fuel divesting, as had the faculty and staff. We've always been very clear we've been a return-focused investor and have not previously taken that much into account outside requests for the financial performance of the portfolio."
In March 2020, the school asked all its trustee committee to review mission integration after receiving a document from the Midwest Jesuit Province asking all institutions to align their strategic plans across the four Universal Apostolic Preferences: Showing the way to God, walking with the excluded, journeying with youth, and caring for the common home.
Ms. Wyatt said the investment policy committee reviewed potentially integrating mission-aligned investing, which included providing a student a place as a non-voting member of the committee to align it with the preference of "journeying with youth."
"We had a year-long discernment, which culminated in the creation of the approval of the investment policy," she said.
The new policy outlines plans to divest from corporations that derive a majority of their revenue from fossil fuels and are not undergoing a transition to clean energy sources, according to an Oct. 14 letter to the university community from Jo Ann Rooney, its president, and Wayne Magdziarz, senior vice president and chief financial officer.
The policy includes divesting from any directly held marketable and liquid securities under the fossil-fuel divestment guidelines in a manner that is "financially responsible, yet expeditious;" allows private and illiquid investments in fossil fuel-related funds to wind down; monitors indirect exposure to fossil-fuel companies in commingled funds on a case-by-case basis; and maintain exposure on case-by-case basis in companies that have fossil-fuel exposure but which are transitioning their business models to address climate solutions.
The policy also says the university will proactively seek investment opportunities with companies or funds that "reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, promote social responsibility and seek solutions for climate change," the letter said.
The university did not disclose how much is currently invested in fossil fuels.
Cambridge Associates LLC's Margaret Chen, global head of endowment and foundation practice, said more universities will be taking this kind of integrated approach.
"This is a long time coming," Ms. Chen said, "and I feel like this is a moment at which that mission alignment and investment goals are fully aligned, and trustees and endowments and foundations do feel that you can't and you shouldn't compromise one for the other. You can have both."
