We review the Policy for Responsible Investment every two years – the last review occurred in July 2024.
The review process begins with the Investment Sub-Committee, where progress is assessed and priorities for the following two years are established. These recommendations are then forwarded to the Finance Committee, as detailed in their terms of reference, and subsequently to the Board of Governors for final approval. The minutes of the Board's discussion are publicly available.
Commitment to invest in renewable energy companies or funds
Manchester is committed to prioritising renewable energy across campus and leveraging our influence to encourage our community to do the same. 100% of our electricity consumption is backed by REGO (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) certification, and we have recently invested directly in our own supply of renewable energy through a Corporate Purchase Power Agreement with a new solar farm development in Medebridge, Essex. Once completed, this investment will secure up to 65% of the University’s electricity demand for the next decade. Our sustainable investment commitments are detailed in our Carbon Action Plan.
One of our targets is to reach 100% renewable energy use within the endowment investment property portfolio by 2027. The percentage of landlord procured REGO backed renewable energy for 2024 and 2023 was 100%. Therefore, the University has now hit this target ahead of the 2027 date.
The University of Manchester ended all investments in fossil fuels in 2022. We are signatories to the cash and money market funds to create a market for cash products that do not contribute to the financing of fossil fuel expansion. The University treasurers in this group all share a common goal, which is to manage money in a way that doesn’t contribute to the financing of fossil fuel expansion and to find something that aligns with the IEA Net Zero Emissions Scenario.
Timeline
- 2020 – Set out our Policy for Socially Responsible Investment (Word Doc, 874KB) – a promise to divest from fossil fuel companies and gradually de-carbonise our entire investment portfolio.
- 2021 – Our Responsible Investment Report (PDF, 89.3KB) confirms we have exceeded our 30% carbon intensity reduction target, at 37%.*The report also confirmed that we have no holdings in companies producing tobacco, controversial weapons and those with the lowest environmental, social and governance rating.
- 2021–2038 – Ambition to reduce this to net zero as part of the University’s and the city of Manchester’s overall zero carbon commitments.
- 2022 – Updated our Policy for Responsible Investment and set medium-term decarbonisation targets to 2027.
- 2023 – Set out our Carbon Action Plan report which provides annual updates on the progress of our responsible investment commitment.
- 2024 – Invested in renewable energy by partnering with UK clean energy company Enviromena, entering a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) to supply up to 65% of our electricity demand through a new solar project in Medebridge.
- 2024 – Policy for Responsible Investment (Word Doc, 481KB) revised and updated.
Targets to 2027 (from base year 2019)
- 50% reduction in weighted average carbon intensity of public equity allocation.
- 40% reduction in weighted average carbon intensity of fixed income and and Multi-Asset Credit allocation
- 10% reduction in energy consumption in the property allocation.
- 100% renewable energy use in property allocation.
Want to understand more about our policy for responsible investment, or give us feedback?
Relevant documents
- List of the University’s direct shareholdings (PDF, 392KB)
- Endowment Investment Portfolio Climate Change Report (PDF, 2.5MB)
- Policy for Responsible Investment July 2024 (Word Doc, 481KB)
- Responsible Investment Report 2024 (PDF, 88.7KB)
- Investment Beliefs and Objectives Introduction (PDF, 48.2KB)
- Committee that oversees investments
- Meeting minutes that provide updates on investment policy reviews