Imperial College London’s mission is to achieve enduring excellence in research and education in science, engineering, medicine and business for the benefit of society. This mission is pursued by means of research, education and innovation, and the College engages many partners in delivering its mission effectively.

The College’s status and position enables it to exert influence by means of engagement with wider society through key stakeholders. This pro-active approach is at the core of the College’s mission.

The Endowment and other investments are a key part of the College. They support the mission through the income they generate and act consistently with, and as part of, the College’s vision, mission and values.  The College and the Endowment recognise that the way it invests its money reflects the values of the College.

The Endowment was officially established in August 2005 to generate income to support the College’s academic mission by stewarding investment assets. The Endowment’s investment in equities (circa 60% of asset value) is managed by external asset managers, those in property and private equity are managed directly by the College.

It has grown from £129m since inception to £478m (as of 31st July 2020), but still remains significantly smaller than those of peer institutions in the Global Top 10.

The Endowment is overseen by the Endowment Board with delegated authority from the College’s Council to which it reports annually. The Board has majority representation from non-executive members who have market experience and expertise consistent with the Endowment’s investments.

The College’s policy is to ensure that any investment decisions take into account the same social, environmental and governance concerns as the College, including pursuing an active approach to engagement with its investments in all asset classes.

The College’s position as a world-leading institution of higher learning will be leveraged to affect positive change.

All investments within the Endowment will align with major international accords and relevant regulation and legislation. Therefore, the College and its fund managers will be signatories to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment.

Active ownership and engagement will be at the heart of the Endowment Board’s approach. Where the Endowment does not have the scale to be effective in its engagement based on the size of its investments alone, it will look to collaborate or combine resources with like-minded investors.

An Endowment Board report on the effectiveness of this approach will be given regularly to Council and President’s Board. This will include the progress the College and other investors are making in changing the behaviour, where change is needed, of companies in which it has invested. This should include a statement, including supporting evidence, on whether there is a clear prospect of future influence.

Should a corporation be deemed unresponsive to engagement by the Endowment and its asset managers, and that corporation is a strategic partner for the College, or a funder of research, or employer of graduates, then the College will use these relationships to influence and engage the corporation.

If the College assesses that a company’s current activities and future plans are not aligned with this policy and it has exhausted all possibilities for influence, it will instruct the Endowment Board to divest.

Council has mandated the Endowment Board to oversee its investment portfolio according to this policy.

Council has mandated President’s Board to provide it with advice on this policy and its delivery.

The College will ensure that:

1. The policy and practices relating to its investment portfolio are reviewed regularly
2. There is a forum for considering representations to change the Policy and practices relating to it on ESG grounds
3. Its investment managers are engaging in responsible investment, and report regularly to monitor the investment portfolio in the context of this Policy.

Review Programme

Date
April	President’s Board Review of SRI Policy (for 2020, as the Policy has just been announced, this will consider any immediate feedback from the College community) – due to COVID-19, the April 2020 review was delayed to 6 July.
November	Council consider report from Endowment Board on the investment portfolio (President’s Board also receive report)

The SRI Policy Working Group met to review initial responses from the College community. Having reviewed these comments, the SRI Working Group have provided clarification on the language of the policy around fossil fuels. Details on this update can be found below.

An SRI Engagement Group has been established to develop and implement methods to monitor and assess progress the College is making in influencing fossil fuel companies through its research and collaborations, education programmes and influence as a world-leading university. The SRI Engagement Group will convene internal and external representation in order to draw on the expertise of the College community and ensure that the College’s assessment plan is benchmarked against best practices across the sector. Further details of the SRI Engagement Group can be found below.

Feedback on the SRI Policy can be sent to sri.policy@imperial.ac.uk

The College, including the Endowment will not invest (directly or indirectly) in companies that manufacture tobacco.

The College, including the Endowment will not invest (directly or indirectly) in companies which manufacture arms that are illegal under Arms Control Treaties to which the UK is a signatory.

The College will continue to invest in fossil fuels companies that demonstrate they are actively moving towards meeting Paris Agreement targets.

The College will influence the behaviour of these companies by the following means:

• Our educational programmes
• Our research and collaborations
• Our influence as active shareholders
• Our influence as a world-leading university

The Endowment Board will report on the progress the College and other investors are making in changing company behaviour, by measuring progress against the Paris Agreement targets.

The College believes that, on the current evidence, thermal coal and tar sand extraction do not play a part in achieving the Paris Agreement targets and will therefore instruct the Endowment Board to divest from direct and indirect investments in companies engaged in these activities that are unable to make progress towards Paris Agreement targets.*

* Footnote: clarification on the language regarding divestment from fossil fuel companies was made in July 2020 following feedback from the College community. This reflects existing language used in the full SRI Policy relating to fossil fuels below.

Please see further information: Socially Responsible Investment Policy - Investing in Fossil Fuels.

Our College Strategy 2020-2025 describes the Endowment as an enabler to strengthen and diversify our revenues so we can deliver our mission. We have spoken to individuals, staff groups and student representatives about how the Endowment funds are invested to achieve that goal while remaining true to the College mission ‘to achieve enduring excellence in research and education in science, engineering, medicine and business for the benefit of society’.

On Friday 22 November 2019, Council approved a recommendation from the Imperial College Student Union and the President’s Board to set up a SRI Policy Working Group. It was tasked with preparing a College SRI Policy for approval at the 14 February 2020 meeting of Council.

The SRI Policy Working Group have drawn on the expertise and views of the College community, key stakeholders, Endowment Board members and Council, as well as external experts in responsible investment. They have taken written evidence, invited specific people to give oral evidence and had informal discussions as appropriate.

The SRI Policy prepared by the SRI Working Group was discussed and approved at Council on Friday 14 February 2020. Council have now amended the Terms of Reference for the Endowment Board to instruct them to follow the College SRI Policy. The Endowment Board will report back to Council annually on its implementation of the SRI Policy.

Friday 22 November 2019
Council approves the establishment of a SRI Policy Working Group

Thursday 28 November 2019
SRI Policy Working Group announced‌

Tuesday 3 December 2019 
First meeting of the SRI Policy Working Group

SRI Policy Working Group Meeting Summary - 3 December 2019‌

Tuesday 10 December 2019 
Discussion of Socially Responsible Investment at President’s Board

Monday 6 January 2020 
Meeting with:

• Annabel Rudebeck, Head of Non-US Credit at Western Asset Management and Member of the Endowment Board

Tuesday 7 January  2020
Second meeting of the SRI Policy Working Group

Monday 13 January 2020
Discussion of Socially Responsible Investment Policy at President’s Board

Monday 13 January 2020
Meeting with:

• Tom Pike, Vice-President of Imperial UCU
• Ann Muggeridge, Chair in Petroleum Engineering

Wednesday 15 January 2020
Meeting with:

• Bruce Duguid, Head of Stewardship at Hermes EOS
• Marisol Hernandez, Head of Asset Owners at UN Principles of Responsible Investment

Thursday 16 January  2020
Meeting with:

• Patrick Bolton, Professor of Finance and Economics
• Marcin Kacperczyk, Professor of Finance
• Alex Lipp, Divest Imperial

Friday 17 January  2020
Meeting with:

• Catherine Howarth, CEO of ShareAction
• Malia Schaerer, Investment Advisor, Marc Posso, Investment Advisor, and Norbert Rucker, Head of Economics and Next Generation Research, at Julius Baer
• Richard Maitland, Partner and Head of Charities, David Pitt-Watson, Advisor, and Ben McEwan, Climate Active Analyst, at Sarasin & Partners

Wednesday 22 January 2020
Third meeting of the SRI Policy Working Group

Friday 31 January 2020
Deadline for written submissions to be received

Tuesday 4 February 2020
Meeting with:

• Mary Ryan, Vice-Dean (Research), Faculty of Engineering

Wednesday 5 February 2020
Meeting with:

• Wendy Rees, Head of UK Stakeholder Relations and Reputation Management, and Andreas Borck, Investor Relations, at Shell

Thursday 6 February 2020
Meeting with:

• Alyssa Gilbert, Head of Policy and Translation, and Neil Jennings, Partnership Development Manager, at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change

Friday 14 February 2020
Council approved the Socially Responsible Investment Policy

Monday 2 March 2020
The Socially Responsible Investment Policy was published

The SRI Policy Working Group have drawn on the expertise and views of the College community, key stakeholders, Endowment Board members and Council, as well as external experts in responsible investment.

Evidence given in person

Name	Job Title	Department/Organisation
Annabel Rudebeck	Head of Non-US Credit Member of the Endowment Board	Western Asset Management Imperial College London
Tom Pike	Vice-President	Imperial UCU
Ann Muggeridge	Chair in Petroleum Engineering	Earth Science & Engineering
Bruce Duguid	Head of Stewardship	Hermes EOS
Marisol Hernandez	Head of Asset Owners	UN Principles of Responsible Investment
Patrick Bolton Marcin Kacperczyk	Professor of Finance and Economics Professor of Finance	Imperial College Business School
Alex Lipp	Divest Imperial representative	Imperial College London
Catherine Howarth	CEO	ShareAction
Malia Schaerer Marc Posso Norbert Rucker	Investment Advisor Investment Advisor Head of Economics and Next Generation Research	Julius Baer
Richard Maitland David Pitt-Watson Ben McEwan	Partner and Head of Charities Advisor Climate Active Analyst	Sarasin & Partners
Mary Ryan	Vice-Dean (Research)	Faculty of Engineering
Wendy Rees   Andreas Borck	Head of UK Stakeholder Relations and Reputation Management Investor Relations	Shell
Alyssa Gilbert Neil Jennings	Head of Policy and Translation Partnership Development Manager	Grantham Institute for Climate Change

 

Submissions via email

Name	Job Title	Department/Organisation
Edwin Chilvers	Head of NHLI	NHLI
David Dye	Professor of Metallurgy	Materials
Ann Muggeridge	Chair in Petroleum Engineering	Earth Science & Engineering
Christine Hemmingway	Research Fellow	Business School
Jochen Brandt	Research Associate	Chemistry
Kenneth Bignell	Honorary Lecturer	Physics
Neil Grant	Research Postgraduate	Chemical Engineering
Divest Imperial		Imperial College London
Grantham Institute		Imperial College London
Social Impact & Responsible Business Club		Imperial College London
UCU Imperial		Imperial College London
Martin Blunt	Chair in Petroleum Engineering	Earth Science & Engineering
Ali Qaseminejad Raeini	Research Fellow in Pore-Scale Physics	Earth Science & Engineering
Qingyang Lin	Research Associate	Earth Science & Engineering
Peter King	Chair in Petroleum Engineering	Earth Science & Engineering
Christopher Kaye	Junior Fee Invoicing Assistant	Finance Division
Dave Clements	Reader in Astrophysics	Physics
Kim Woodruff	Senior Project Manager	School of Public Health
Mark Rehkamper	Professor of Isotope Geochemistry	Earth Science & Engineering
Robert Bradley	Research Associate	Life Sciences
Geva Greenfield	Research Fellow in Public Health	School of Public Health
Amelia Womack	Deputy Leader, Green Party	Alumni
Katherine Davis	Research Postgraduate	School of Public Health
Molly Fyfe	Senior Teaching Fellow in Educational Research	School of Public Health
Arminder Deol	Research Postgraduate	School of Public Health
Marine Secchi	Undergraduate	Department of Infectious Disease
Seb Beloe	Author
Robert Zimmerman	Chair in Rock Mechanics	Earth Science & Engineering
Julia Cotton	College Safety Auditor	Health and Safety Services
Ann Yashnikova	Undergraduate	Faculty of Medicine
Kate Mitchell	Research Fellow	School of Public Health
Mahjabin Chowdhury	Undergraduate	Faculty of Medicine
Gary Hampson	Professor of Sedimentary Geology	Earth Science & Engineering
Sajjad Foroughi	Research Associate	Earth Science & Engineering
Adriel Simorangkir	Taught Postgraduate	Earth Science & Engineering
Yihuai Zhang	Research Associate Reservoir Condition Multi-Phase Fluid Exp	Earth Science & Engineering
Extinction Rebellion Imperial College
Asmaa Elsouda	Undergraduate	Bioengineering
Robert Gardner	Research Postgraduate	Physics
Eric Schoenrock	Research Postgraduate	Physics
Chris Wells	Research Postgraduate	Physics
Geoffrey Maitland	Professor of Energy Engineering	Chemical Engineering
Niall Mac Dowell	Reader in Energy Systems	Centre for Environmental Policy

  

3 December 2019 Meeting Summary

27 January 2020 Meeting Summary

6 February 2020 Meeting Summary

22 June 2020 Meeting Summary

30 October 2020 Meeting Summary

25 February 2021 Meeting Summary

24 May 2021 Meeting Summary

7 June 2021 Meeting Summary

29 September 2021 Meeting Summary.‌