We got the news this week that the Jubitz Family Foundation, based in Portland, Oregon, is divesting its portfolio from fossil fuels. In fact, they’re going even farther, putting into place a strict screen that prohibits any investments in carbon intensive industries. We started this campaign focused on colleges, cities, and religious institutions, but its great to see foundations coming on board as well. Their commitment is not only a powerful political statement, but it can help pave the groundwork for other institutions to follow their lead. Many thanks to the Jubitz Family!
Portland, Oregon foundation elects to divest all fossil fuel stocks in order to better align portfolio investments with its mission and to fight climate change.
The Jubitz Family Foundation (JFF), a multi-generational family foundation, took a significant step in furthering its commitment to the environment by removing all oil, gas, coal and consumable fuel stocks from its portfolio. Inspired by Bill McKibben and his organization, 350.org, which is dedicated to solving the climate crisis, JFF sought an investment solution that supported this initiative while avoiding seriously penalizing returns or risk. JFF, with guidance from its investment advisor, CTC Consulting, analyzed the additional risk impact of eliminating carbon on its U.S. stock portfolio. They found that carbon divestment would result in an insignificant impact on investment risk and return.
Jubitz Family Foundation president, Al Jubitz commented, “We’re highly concerned about climate change. We want to do all we can to protect the planet and encourage a shift towards renewable energy. For many years the Foundation has committed to a socially conscious investment strategy. Divesting in carbon was a further step in aligning our investments with our mission.”
Bill McKibben, 350.org’s cofounder and inspiration behind Jubitz’s decision to divest, said, “It’s a remarkable and powerful thing when philanthropic generosity is coupled with a strong moral witness. The Jubitz Family Foundation isn’t just doing good things with its money, it’s making sure its money is doing good things, too. What a model for others!”
“The Jubitz Family Foundation is one of a number of our clients seriously considering how to better align their investments with their missions. Our role was to analyze the impact on portfolio risk and other costs. We found the additional risk to be negligible and were comfortable that the carbon divestment made sense within the foundation’s portfolio,” said Dan Gimbel, Director and Senior Consultant, CTC Consulting.
The Jubitz Family Foundation was established in 2001 and is dedicated to children, the environment and peace.