An increasing number of investors and businesses are looking for greener investments to avoid risks tied to climate change, and an upcoming symposium at the UO will tackle many of the issues raised by the growing shift.
“Investing in the Age of Climate Change” will feature a range of speakers from academic, business and institutional investment perspectives. The event takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 28, in Room 175, Knight Law Center.
Participants will be able to explore the issue from a variety of important vantage points.
“Mission-driven organizations that exist to improve environmental and social conditions and rely on strong investment returns are asking with greater frequency, ‘How can we approach our investments mindful of the environmental impact,’” said Steve Mital, the UO’s sustainability director and an event organizer. “This kind of discussion and exploration of the issues is more important than ever as we balance business interests with the ethical questions raised by climate change.”
Registration is open until April 19 for the free, public event. Lunch is free to the first 100 registrants.
As part of the symposium, organizers have created the Impact Investing Pitch Competition, which invites students to submit new and innovative ideas for investing endowment funds in ways that benefit society and the environment. Several of the proposals will be presented during the day’s events.
“Between the diverse presenters and the innovative proposals we have received, this is shaping up to be an incredible exploration of how we meet global environmental needs without sacrificing the needs of many businesses and organizations to grow their investment portfolios,” Mital said. “This discussion has never been more relevant.”
Speakers include:
- Kate Gordon, a nationally recognized expert on the intersection of clean energy and economic development. She was the founding director of the “Risky Business Project,” co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg, Henry Paulson and Tom Steyer, and focused on the economic risks the U.S. faces from unmitigated climate change.
- Jay Naymet, the chief investment officer of the UO Foundation. He joined the organization as its first staff professional in 2000 and is responsible for oversight of all facets of investment management with regard to the endowment, trust and cash pools totaling approximately $1 billion.
- Dave Chen, a principal at Equilibrium Capital, which builds and operates portfolios of sustainably driven real assets for institutional investors.
- Paul Slovic, a professor of psychology at the UO and a founder and president of Decision Research. He studies human judgment, decision-making and the psychology of risk. With colleagues worldwide, he has developed methods to describe risk perceptions and measure their effects on individuals and society.
- Susan Gary, the Orlando J. and Marian H. Hollis Professor at the UO School of Law. Her current scholarly work focuses on fiduciary duties and investing. She has examined how fiduciaries managing assets for charities can take mission into account, and she has discussed the evolution of the prudent investor rule to include consideration of environmental, social and governance factors. Gary is a member of the steering committee of the Intentional Endowments Network, among many professional affiliations.
- Emilie Mazzacurati, founder and CEO of Four Twenty Seven, an award-winning market research and advisory firm that brings climate intelligence to economic and financial decision-makers. She was the lead author on the 2015 Caring for Climate report “The Business Case for Responsible Corporate Adaptation” and a contributing author to the 2016 Global Adaptation & Resilience Investor discussion paper.
A complete list of speakers is available on the symposium website.