Raising the Bar: Sustainable Investing Platform

Overview

Sustainable Investing

Actions Taken

Proxy Voting Search

Sustainability Research

Corporate Governance Factors

The Treasurer supports strong corporate governance practices that promote accountability, transparency, fair executive pay, shareholder rights, and ethical behavior. The Treasurer encourages policies and practices that reflect these principles.

Board Accountability
Board Diversity
Transparency
Sensible Executive Compensation
Robust Shareholder Rights
Ethical Conduct

Environmental Factors

Environmental stewardship is a shared responsibility. Environmental and climate-related issues can also affect the financial performance of the Treasurer’s investment portfolio. For that reason, the Treasurer considers environmental factors important when evaluating a company’s long-term value and risk.

These factors may include the use of nonrenewable natural resources, energy practices, and harmful releases into the environment.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Air Quality, Energy, and Fuel Management
Water and Waste
Climate Competence

Social factors focus on how a company manages its relationships with customers, communities, the public, and government. These relationships can affect investment returns, especially when controversies harm a company’s reputation or weaken public trust.

Important social factors include human rights, access and affordability, customer welfare, data security, consumer privacy, fair disclosure and labeling, responsible marketing, and community reinvestment.

Human Rights
Consumer Welfare
Data Security and Consumer Privacy
Community Relations and Community Reinvestment

Human Capital Factors

Companies that view their workforce as essential to long-term success should manage human capital with the same care they give to financial and physical assets. Human capital factors include the policies and practices that affect employee productivity, engagement, recruitment, retention, compensation, and advancement.

They also include how employers support workplace health and safety and respect workers’ rights, including the right to organize and bargain collectively.

Labor Relations and Fair Labor Practices
Recruitment, Development, and Retention
Diversity and Inclusion

Business Model and Innovation Factors

Sustainability issues can affect a company’s strategy, innovation, operations, and long-term performance. A company’s ability to identify risks and opportunities and adapt its business model is an important part of creating long-term shareholder value.

Lifecycle Impacts of Products and Services
Product Quality and Safety

Leadership Factors

Leadership factors address how a company manages issues tied to its business model or common industry practices that may conflict with the interests of stakeholders, including government, communities, customers, and employees. If these issues are not managed well, they can create legal, regulatory, reputational, or operational risks.

These factors include compliance, ethics, political influence, and supply chain oversight.