Environmental, Social, & Governance Responsibility Task Force
ESG Final Reports
Following the revamp of the Task Force in 2021, work was divided into three subgroups to address the issues outstanding from its charge: developing recommendations for the university on the Social issues, Governance issues, and a process by which the university will continue to engage on ESG-related matters.
The subgroups’ final reports are below and the Board of Trustees recommended that the administration carry forward the principles to implement.
About the Task Force
The Board of Trustees created the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Responsibility Task Force to establish a long-term, proactive approach to managing ESG responsibility. In the spring of 2020, the Task Force made a series of environmentally-focused recommendations to the Board of Trustees. These recommendations were accepted by the Board, and the Task Force's 2020 report is below.
Read the Spring 2020 Report (PDF)
In the summer of 2021, Board Chair Grace Speights charged the Task Force, under the leadership of Task Force Co-Chairs Trustees Roslyn Brock and Peter Harrison, to continue its work with a renewed focus on social and governance priorities, and to develop a process by which future ESG issues can be addressed by the university community.
The Board of Trustees is committed to receiving robust input and feedback from the GW community and worked with the Student Association, the Faculty Senate, and the GW Alumni Association to identify representatives to serve on this important initiative. More information on ways to provide feedback to the Task Force is included below.
Objectives
The Trustees formed the ESG Responsibility Task Force to seek input from our community and provide guidance to the Board on achieving these objectives:
- Providing an institutional statement of beliefs on environmental, social, and governance responsibility.
- Addressing a broad range of environmental, social, and governance issues.
- Establishing a process to consider proposals from the GW community.
- Promoting education, research, and intellectual debate.
- Informing constituents about policies, practices, and obligations.
Members
- Ama Appiah, Graduate Student
- Roslyn Brock, Trustee, Co-Chair of the Task Force
- Somender Chaudhary, GWAA Executive Committee Member
- John Forrer, Associate Research Professor of Strategic Management & Public Policy
- Peter Harrison, Trustee, Co-Chair of the Task Force
- Michael Hoffman, Trustee
- Antwan Jones, Associate Professor of Sociology, Africana Studies, and Epidemiology
- Saniya LeBlanc, Associate Professor of Engineering and Applied Science
- Jeremy Liskar, Graduate Student
- Melani McAlister, Professor of American Studies and International Affairs
- Tara Scully, Assistant Professor of Biology & Director of the Sustainability Minor
- Liam Searcy, Undergraduate Student
- Grace Speights, Chair of the Board of Trustees, ex officio
- Lydia Thomas, Trustee Emerita
- Dorinda Tucker, Associate Vice President for Ethics, Compliance, and Risk, and Chief Privacy Officer
- George W. Wellde, Jr., Trustee
- Mark S. Wrighton, President, ex officio
The work of the Environmental, Social, and Governance Responsibility Task Force is supported by the Office of the Board of Trustees including:
- Aristide Collins, Vice President, Chief of Staff to the President, and Secretary of the University
- Rhonda Carter, Executive Associate
- Edward Howland, Assistant Director of Board Operations
- Meg McDermott, Director of Board Operations
- Jonathan Post, Assistant Vice President for Board Relations
Projected Fall 2021 Timeline
September
- Task Force meetings
October and November
- Task Force meetings
- Community Outreach
- Update the Board of Trustees
December
- Recommendations to the Board of Trustees
Spring 2020 ESG Task Force & Report
Following the recommendation of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Responsibility Task Force, the Board of Trustees pledged to not make any new investments in businesses that derive the majority of their revenue from the extraction of fossil fuels and agreed to eliminate 100 percent of all such investments from its endowment over the next five years.
In addition, the task force made recommendations around campus sustainability, carbon neutrality, responsible investing and academics that the board has also accepted.
The task force, made up of trustees, students, alumni, faculty and staff, sought out feedback from the broader GW community in a series of town halls and online forums to develop its report.