Green Gown Awards 2016 – Facilities and Services – University of Edinburgh– Finalist

Responsible investment: Making money matter

Since becoming the first university in Europe to adopt the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI) in 2013, the University of Edinburgh has taken forward its commitment to responsible investment following an extensive consultation process with staff and students.

In February 2016, the University adopted a new Responsible Investment Policy, which fully supports the stated values and mission of the University:

An independent review of the University’s finances earlier this year confirmed investments in fossil fuels have dramatically reduced following the introduction of this policy. The proportion of Edinburgh’s portfolio linked to fossil fuels has halved since 2013 and fallen by almost 90 per cent since 2008.

Top 3 learnings

1 We’ve learnt how to better do public consultations using a variety of techniques, and realising we need to reduce the complexity of consultation and developed an approach to bring together different stakeholders and come to consensus on the way forward, despite varied viewpoints

2 We’ve learnt the importance of transparency, and how to improve ease of access to information (such as publishing more than 60 pieces of supporting evidence in one place)

3 We’ve learnt a lot about responsible investment itself – different approaches and actors involved, key debates in the industry.