The Governing Council approved the Student Union’s draft strategy for an LSE socially responsible investment (SRI).
Currently, the Council members and School Officers – those on the school’s governing body – must comply with seven principles when considering investment decisions. They must also declare any conflict of interest they have with those decisions. Endowment funds must also appoint managers with a record of ethical decision making. Two Students’ Union members sit on the Finance and General Purposes Committee.
The new proposal calls for a committee to be formed with representatives of LSE “stakeholders” including students, staff and alumni. It would be responsible for creating a new set of SRI principles for the school. They will advise those who oversee investments on possible strategies for ethical investment. Finally, the proposal asks for LSE to participate in proxy shareholder voting on the decisions of businesses they hold shares with.
In an email to LSE Socially Responsible Investors – a group of people who have attended SRI workshops last term – SU Treasurer George Wetz said: “In the past, [SRI] proposals always sought to essentially include a list of what we should, or should not, invest in. This was problematic as everyone has a different view as to what is ethical. The new proposal works because it concentrates on the central questions: what is socially responsible, and for whom?”
A final proposal is expected to be heard at Council in the Summer Term.
Related posts:
- LSE closer to implementing SRI
- SRI: What “engaged students” want
- Highlands but not high spirits
- Don’t keep my money in your arms