Socially Conscious
Investment Club
Socially Conscious Investment
A multifaceted approach to ensuring the dignity of all individuals is respected and the stewardship of our planet is prioritized. Making money and financial gains while operating with a clear and meaningful set of values that align with those of the institution we love.
Socially Conscious Investment can seem broad and overwhelming. We have decided to highlight some of the values we believe should be reflected in the institutional investment policy as well as examples of structures that violate our outlined principles.
CRITERIA THAT MATTERS
HUMAN RIGHTS
We believe that it is important to ensure that every company who is on the university's investment portfolio is committed to respecting the rights of every individual associated with the corporation. Fair wages and safe working conditions must be considered when making an investment. Profitting from companies who use sweatshops or slave labor is morally egregious and aligns the university with the undermining of human dignity in exchange for profit.
ENVIORNMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
We have 13,000 acres of domain to protect and cherish. To fund any enterprise that harms the planet and threatens the lively hood of our campus is irresponsible. We have a responsibility to look after the land and ensure that the next generation will get to experience what makes Sewanee so special. To do that we must be mindful of how investments impact the domain and divest from them.
GENDER, DIVERSITY AND EQUITY
To truly dwell together in unity, we must make sure we are not aligned with any organization that discriminates against individuals or does not prioritize diversity. Representation matters and it is important to invest in companies that recognize the value of diverse leadership and equal treatment of all employees regardless of their identities.
Private Prisons
Investing in private prisons is an attempt to capitalize on mass incarceration and profit from high imprisonment rates. Private prisons often have high rates of inmate crowding, inmate death and under staffing. Human rights are violated and these prisons continue to run due to strong lobbying power and financial backing. Investing in private prisons furthers the prison industrial complex and allows for profit companies to use shameful patterns of abuse and neglect towards the populations they house. Rates of assault are 2-3 times higher in private prisons. Nobody should be profiting from filling our jails and prison system. Private Prisons act on profit incentives, using tactics like advocating for longer sentencing to increase earnings. The prison system disproportionately incarcerates POC, furthering the damaging effects of the prison industrial complex.
Sweatshops
Sweatshops rely on low wages and poor working conditions to maximize profitability. by paying their workers low wages and not caring about safety and health standards they can quickly and cheaply produce goods. Companies that use these practices have no place in the investment portfolio of a university that prides itself on recognizing the dignity of all individuals. slave labor and child labor are frequently connected to sweatshops and to fund companies that use these practices would be perpetuating the cyclical violation of basic human rights.
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are a top contributor to global warming and the climate crisis. as the energy market adapts to the growing demand for renewable and alternate energy, fossil fuels become less and less profitable. beyond the moral component and environmental destruction, oil stocks are continuing to tank and become less desirable. prominent firms have taken the steps to begin divesting from fuels such as crude oil, signifying a shift at all levels.
Weapons Manufacturing
weapons manufacturing perpetuates the military industrial complex and circulates goods capable of mass casualty and destruction.WEAPON MANUFACTURES DO EVERYTHING FROM dealING arms to countries known for violating the rights of the citizens, TO USING THEIR MONEY TO INFLUENCE GUN LAWS AND REGULATION.