McKnight Foundation commits to net zero across endowment

The McKnight Foundation has announced a commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its $3 billion endowment by 2050.

The foundation plans to achieve net zero by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its existing portfolio while making new investments in efforts to build a carbon-free economy. The four-part plan includes committing to net zero by 2050 and setting interim targets for progress by 2030; continuing to capitalize on investments profiting from the climate transition and seeking opportunities to drive climate risk management and greenhouse gas reductions through existing conventional investments; working with investment advisors to understand the greenhouse gas emissions of each fund manager, cooperating with asset owners and experts to identify data and carbon accounting options to reliably assess endowment emissions, and engaging with public companies McKnight owns to ensure they are setting meaningful greenhouse gas reduction targets and pivoting to profitable strategies; and making regular reports on its progress and commit to sharing experiences with peers.

A leading funder of climate solutions, the Minneapolis-based foundation is the largest U.S. private foundation to pursue a net zero endowment to date. Organizations that have made similar commitments include the David Rockefeller Fund, Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and pension funds such as CalSTRS and CalPERS.

"The magnitude of the climate crisis requires that we take bold and deliberate action," said McKnight Foundation president Tonya Allen. "Eliminating the greenhouse gas impact of our endowment allows us to employ all of our foundation's resources to address climate change. Foundations sit on over a trillion dollars of potential climate solutions, and we invite others to join us."

"As we near COP26 in Glasgow, we call on all institutional investors to join us in boldly meeting this important moment on climate change," said Elizabeth McGeveran, director of investments at the foundation. "Science is clear about the economy we must create in order to thrive, and every endowment dollar offers immediate and powerful opportunities to advance a low-carbon future together."

(Photo credit: National Renewable Energy Lab)
Source: Philanthropy News Digest

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