Task Force on Social Responsibility in Investing  

Task Force Membership

Thank you to the members of the task force for your time, care and work over the past several months to develop the report.

• Peter Barr – Chair, Alum  
• Goldi Gill – Staff   
• Sheryl Kennedy – Community member, Alum   
• Bilal Khan – Board member   
• Majid Mirza – Student   
• Blake Phillips – Faculty   
• Lev Pollock - Student  
• James Thompson – Faculty   
• Michael O. Wood – Faculty   

In addition to the faculty, students and staff members, we are pleased to welcome the expertise of alumni community members on the Task Force: 

• Peter Barr is the Chief Strategy Officer at AltaML, and is an alumnus of the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance. Prior to this, Peter was with Deloitte for 40 years and held a variety of leadership positions.  He was a member of the University of Waterloo Board of Governors from 2017 to 2023 and served on several committees, including as the Chair of Pension & Benefits (2019 to 2023).   

• Sheryl Kennedy graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Waterloo, a master’s in public administration from Harvard, and studied financial markets at the London School of Economics. Sheryl has served on several boards, including the University of Waterloo Board of Governors, where she was the driving force behind enhancing investment fund portfolios and policies and chaired the Responsible Investing Advisory Group. 

Thank you to the resource group, which includes administrators from various units across the University, who have supported the work of the task force. 

Mandate

• Reviewed existing practices and obligations related to disclosure of the University’s investments;
• Conducted an environmental scan of responsible investing policies and practices at comparator universities insofar as they relate to social factors, disclosure, and receipt of expressions of concern;
• Examined the University’s Responsible Investment Policy and related policy framework with a lens on social factors including international human rights and diversity, equity and inclusion and make recommendations on the Responsible Investment Policy as it relates to the definition and contemplation of social factors from an ESG lens;
• Made recommendations on the University’s investment policy framework to address matters related to receipt of expressions of concern in relation to the University’s investments, in accordance with the Responsible Investment Policy.

Reporting and communication

The final report and recommendations has been submitted to the President and will be shared with the Board of Governors and broader University community. Any proposed development or revision of policies or guidelines will follow the appropriate governance pathways.

Background

In 2022, the Board of Governors approved a Responsible Investment Policy. The policy forms part of a broader responsible investing framework which includes Environmental, Social, Governance (“ESG”) guiding principles and guidelines for their application to University investments, as well as the UNPRI and the Responsible Investment Charter for Canadian Universities, for which the University of Waterloo has signed declarations to confirm its commitments.

When the Responsible Investment Policy was approved in 2022, though climate change mitigation was designated as a priority area among ESG factors, it was recognized that further consideration would be required relating to other ESG factors including social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and their potential consequential impact on investment risk and reward.

The University’s new values – presented to the Board of Governors in June – along with our existing and ongoing commitment to Indigenization, equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism, and recent global events have hastened the need to examine social factors including international human rights and diversity, equity and inclusion as outlined in the UNPRI. 

Task Force on Principles for Institutional Partnerships

Learn more about the Task Force on Principles for Institutional Partnerships.