Sustainable Investments Initiative

Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Middlebury and Dickinson Focus on Socially Responsible Investments

June 22, 2010

To enhance further Dickinson’s commitment to socially responsible investments, the college will invest one percent of its pooled endowment in the Sustainable Investments Initiative and will seek additional gifts to match its pledge. Created by Investure, this co-mingled fiscal vehicle within the global equity fund is devoted to investments that generate long-term social, environmental and economic value. Dickinson is the third Investure client to join the initiative.  The focus on socially responsible investments recognizes the likely scenario of sustainability soon becoming a primary global economic driver. The Sustainable Investments Initiative is structured to make investments in both public and private equity around the world.

“It is wonderful to have Dickinson College join us in the Sustainable Investments Initiative,” said Stephen B. Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.  “Our shared hope is that sustainable investing becomes a standard practice.”

Investure—the outsourced investment office for several organizations, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Middlebury and Dickinson colleges—is in the process of constructing the initiative and will manage the sustainable investments portfolio. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund will invest 5-10 percent of its current endowment in the initiative. Middlebury College has committed one percent of its endowment with the goal of raising an additional $4 million. 

“The Sustainable Investments Initiative will enable Dickinson to extend further its global engagement by investing in high-quality companies that are committed to conscientious economic, environmental and social development,” said President William G. Durden.

Dickinson College Vice President and Treasurer Annette Parker added that the Sustainable Investments Initiative fits into the college’s “triple bottom line” approach to investing—the management of three bottom lines or net business outcomes—financial, social, and environmental. “The continuing support of socially responsible investment in a time of turbulence marks the important role that this type of thinking plays in Dickinson’s investment decisions,” she said.

For several years, Dickinson has worked to align more closely its investment policies and portfolios with its mission as a nonprofit educational institution. In 2007, President Durden convened the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Discussion Group. Under the guidance of Parker, the SRI Discussion Group, which includes faculty, student, alumni and administrative members, has met regularly to debate how the principles of social responsibility and sustainability can best be implemented in relationship with the college‘s mission, endowment and financial policies. The college’s effort toward transparent and sustainable investments has been recognized with a grade of A-, the highest possible grade, on the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s Green Report Card in 2009 and 2010.

To read more about Dickinson’s approach to socially responsible investments.