The principal purpose of the Cornell endowment is to provide income for the advancement of the educational and mission-related objectives to which the university is dedicated, and the first responsibility of the Board of Trustees is to ensure that the funds are managed properly and used for the educational and programmatic purposes for which they were donated.

Over the past decade, it has become feasible to make investments consistent with these objectives while also seeking a level of commitment to good environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. In fact, many of the external investment managers that are retained by Cornell have committed to investment decisions governed by formal ESG polices, such as the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI).

The proportion of the endowment under management by organizations with formal ESG policies and frameworks has increased from 57.5% in December of 2015 to 70.8% in December of 2019. Another 8.7% is currently managed in accounts where UNPRI or other ESG policies/frameworks are not directly relevant, including accounts with primarily cash and U.S. Treasury holdings. In combination, these two categories represent about 80% of current endowment holdings.

ESG neutral includes investments for which UNPRI or other ESG Policy / Framework is not meaningful (i.e. Cash, US Treasuries, etc.)

As of December 2019, Cornell’s stock and bond holdings in firms included in the Carbon 100 Oil and Gas list and Carbon 100 Coal list represent about 1.0% and 0.3% respectively of the total value of the endowment. As noted above, Cornell does not purchase these holdings directly, but uses outside managers that oversee its investments.

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