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Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment Has Met with Scores of Individuals and Professionals Within the Brandeis Community to Understand These Issues

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Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment Has Met with Scores of Individuals and Professionals Within the Brandeis Community to Understand These Issues April 3rd, 2015 Dear President Lawrence, It is with great pleasure that we submit our Committee’s Report on Fossil Fuel Divestment. As you know, over the past two years there has been increased pressure to address the challenges of climate change that the IPCC detailed in their 2014 reports. Almost all scientists and most policy makers agree that the world needs to reduce its carbon emissions. The divestment movement highlights the need for institutions to rationalize their investment portfolios and pursue a more sustainable set of objectives while meeting risk / return criteria. Over the past two years, the Brandeis University Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment has met with scores of individuals and professionals within the Brandeis community to understand these issues. We have read numerous reports and talked with professional investment advisors to learn about the challenges of sustainable investing and divestment. We have also consulted with and met with the University Investment Manager, Nicholas Warren. He has advised us on the constraints and investment philosophy of the University. We have also observed the momentum of the divestment movement across universities and other institutions in the United States. There is clearly pressure for change and a tangible response to the challenges of climate change. We feel that the University has the opportunity to make a strong statement that is consistent with the social justice mission of Brandeis. Our report outlines a series of options and next steps that we believe are realistic and achievable within the operating constraints of the University. With many thanks to all who have advised and participated in this effort we humbly submit our Final Report and Recommendations. We look forward to further conversations as the University community contemplates its investment strategies in light of the divestment movement. Sincerely, The Committee Brandeis University’s Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment Final Report and Recommendations April 3rd, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary……………...……………………………..………………………….…………...…………4 Authors and Contributors……..……………………………...…………….…………..……………...………...6 University Charge…………….…..………………….…………….……………………………………………...7 The Challenge of Climate Change............................................................……………………………………….9 The Logic of Divestment ………………………………………………………………………………………..14 Divestment in Academia…………………………………………………….…………………………………..22 Divestment at Brandeis………………………………………………………………………………………….25 Responsible Investing………………….……………………………………………………………...................27 References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………31 Appendices Appendix A: IPCC 2014 Synthesis Report for Policy Makers………………………………………34 Appendix B: “Carbon Underground 200” List of Fossil Fuel Firms Ranked by Reserves……….65 Appendix C: Swarthmore’s “Sordid Sixteen” List of Ethically-Questionable Carbon Firms……67 Appendix D: “Climate and Energy” Excerpt from Pew Research on Climate Awareness…..…..71 Appendix E: A Transition to Clean Energy: Pace, Benefits, and Co-Benefits……………………..77 Appendix F: Climate Activism at Brandeis…………………………………………………………...81 Appendix G: Brandeis Faculty Against the Climate Threat (FACT) Petition……………………..85 Appendix H: Institutional Responses at Brandeis…………………………………………………...91 Appendix I: Stanford Faculty Letter in Support of Divestment…………………………………….94 Appendix J: Harvard Faculty for Divestment Letter………………………………………………...96 Appendix K: Harvard’s Change in Investment Criteria…………………………………………...101 Appendix L: Nick Warren’s Report to the Committee……………………………………………..105 Appendix M: Brandeis’ 1972 Investor Guidelines………………………………………………….134 Appendix N: TruCost Proposal………………………………………………………………………137 Appendix O: Analysis of Fossil-Free Portfolios…………………………………………………….173 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Climate change poses real and immediate threats to human prosperity and the stability of the biosphere. As a steward of our students and the Brandeis community, it is incumbent upon the University to embrace tangible actions that reduce our carbon emissions on campus and in our portfolio. While Brandeis should balance its financial security with the imperatives of confronting climate change, the University must ultimately be guided by its social justice mission. This report responds to the challenges of climate change, the national fossil fuel divestment movement, and our responsibilities as a leading research university preparing global citizens. Over the past twenty years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and a wide variety of leading institutions have published scientific reports regarding the implications of climate change. There is an overwhelming consensus that the Earth is warming and that greenhouse-gas emissions must be curtailed to mitigate serious harm to the environment and society. These gases are externalities that are not accounted for in the cost of production or exchange, and are therefore expensive hidden liabilities not recognized by existing global markets. The US-China climate agreement announced by President Obama and Premier Xi Jinping in November 2014 and India’s collaboration on reducing emissions are laudable actions by the world’s largest carbon emitters; however, international climate negotiations have thus far not significantly mitigated carbon pollution. Fossil fuels are fundamental to modern civilization and therefore the transition to renewable energy sources will take decades. However, recent studies by energy analysts suggest that with existing technologies the United States could move more rapidly towards a clean energy economy. Several lines of research show that the fossil fuel industry has disseminated denial and doubt about climate change and has impeded the transition to low-carbon energy sources. This delay has real social, environmental, and moral consequences. Divestment seeks to accelerate this clean-energy transition by stigmatizing fossil fuel companies and precipitating a more robust public policy response. The divestment movement, initiated by the climate-activist organization 350.org, grew in response to the lack of U.S. and international policies on significant emissions reductions. The movement also emerged after scientific and financial reports revealed that fossil fuel companies currently own five times the carbon reserves in their proven assets than scientists warned can be safely combusted. Since the fall of 2012, the campaign for fossil fuel divestiture— encompassing campuses, cities, not-for-profit organizations, religious and financial institutions—has evolved into the fastest growing divestment movement in history. While often considered a symbolic act, divestment has emerged in the U.S. as a significant political action responding to climate change. President Lawrence commissioned Brandeis University’s Exploratory Committee in response to the challenge of divestment and to review the University’s strategy in relation to its energy portfolio. The committee was specifically asked to analyze the climate crisis, the social justice aspects of our investments, and alternative investment options. Brandeis University currently manages its portfolio with a select group of investment managers to achieve above market returns at manageable risk. Over the past fifteen years, a small group of investment professionals at the University have worked with approximately 40 managers to meet its objectives of higher returns with less volatility (Appendix L). Energy investments are an important part 4 of our strategies, both in terms of a hedge against inflation and actual returns. Eliminating fossil fuels from our portfolio could potentially reduce our above market returns by as much as 2%. Our findings conclude that the University has an opportunity to take significant action on the challenges of climate change and the divestment movement. The options described below can be implemented over the coming years to meet these challenges, while at the same time building a more resilient, ethically consistent and sustainable institution that satisfies its financial objectives. • Brandeis can divest its entire portfolio of the most polluting fossil fuel firms.1 A strong divestment commitment would position Brandeis as a leader in tackling climate change. • The University can instruct its investment managers to divest a portion of its energy portfolio, such as coal firms or high-risk carbon companies.2 Alternatively, and/or as complementary actions, Brandeis can consider the following: • Pursue a more sustainable endowment as measured by comprehensive portfolio metrics. Our investment managers could track the risk and returns of its sustainable portfolio in comparison to more traditional investment options over extended periods of time. This would allow Brandeis to evaluate the risks, returns, and costs of our Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investment strategies. • Adjust investment holdings to reduce the “carbon footprint” of the entire or a portion of its portfolio. This can be performed in conjunction with like-minded institutions while maintaining the University’s portfolio return targets. Measuring the returns and carbon footprint of our investments would help us evaluate the costs of our sustainable investment goals. • Actively promote, measure, and encourage reducing the carbon footprint on campus. Provide increased educational opportunities focusing on climate and energy across the curricula in all schools.
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