Sustainability Strategy

In 2016 the board of the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation (STJF) decided to realign its securities and property portfolios in accordance with the principle of sustainability in general and the Foundation’s objectives in particular. This decision has since been included in relevant contracts, regulations as well as in the overall the investment policy.

1. Basic principles of asset investment

As a charitable, tax-exempt foundation, the STJF supports projects in the following areas: performing and visual arts, support of people affected by conflict and violence, and scientific research especially in the fields of health and welfare. It also promotes access to education and vocational training in the Canton of Bern.
The securities and properties investments are aligned with the with the principles of liquidity, viability and security, within the foundation’s tolerance of and capacity for risk. The purchase power of the foundation’s assets shall be maintained in the long term and the generated return shall enable grant contributions to remain as stable and constant as possible. Simultaneously, the securities and property investments shall not contradict the foundation’s objectives, promoting them where ever possible.

2. Principles of sustainable investment activity

To achieve the goal of sustainable activity in line with our Foundation’s mission, securities will primarily be based on exclusion criteria and the best-in-class approach (choosing the most sustainable investments for each investment category or sector). Themed investments and non-listed, mission-conforming investments (e.g. loans, impact investing, venture philanthropy ...) can be undertaken optionally, as long as these are linked to a direct pursuit of the Foundation’s objectives. The Foundation works with institutional investment funds that exercise their voting rights and cultivate a dialogue with the invested companies (engagement). As a rule, this happens via a specialised engagement pool. In property management, the Foundation aligns newbuilds with established sustainability standards (e.g. “Minergie” minimal energy standards).
To guarantee cost efficient implementation, the foundation primarily uses existing standard products for securities investment and as a general rule suspends the requirement for individual sustainability criteria. Mandates with individual criteria are only conferred if they are linked to substantial advantages concerning the foundation’s objectives.
Asset management mandates and other mandates are tendered in a structured selection process under competitive conditions. Sustainability criteria are included in the written contract and the asset managers are legally obligated to report on their sustainability criteria.

3. Exclusion Criteria

In regard to sustainability the mandate or respectively the stock deployed within it is subject to the following exclusion criteria:

Problem area	Exclusion criteria
Climate change	Promotion of fossil fuels (mineral oil, coal, natural gas) and coal reserves Operation of fossil power plants (>5% turnover) Manufacture of aircrafts and cars* Airline and cruise companies
Decline of plant and animal biodiversity	Manufacture of durable contaminating substances Non-sustainable forestry (without FCS certification or similar) Fishing without MCS label Non-certified palm oil (RSPO<50%)
Nuclear energy	Nuclear power plants, atomic reprocessing plants and nuclear waste repositories Manufacture of nuclear reactors Uranium mining
Gene technology	Release of organisms manipulated by gene technology Therapeutic cloning
Other exclusion criteria	Manufacture of weapons, military vehicles, aircraft or ships Manufacture of tobacco or smoking products Manufacture of war technology UN Global Compact violations Exploitative child labour Pornography production Alcohol production (>5% turnover) Gambling (>5% turnover) Factory farming

* Conventional car manufacturers without a comprehensive transition strategy to the use of alternative climate-friendly drive systems

For the remaining companies, which have not been excluded from the respective investment universe, further sustainability criteria are applied.
As a consequence of the entire sustainability process the STJF portfolio does not for example include any shares or bonds from weapons or automobile manufacturers, nor any US government bonds (due to objections to the death penalty among other issues), but it does include listed shares in various small and medium-sized companies that particularly promote sustainable development.

4. Real Estate

The STJF is co-owner of several properties, especially in the Bern area. Some of these are quite old and have already been or will need to be renovated in the coming years. Renovations as well as newbuilds take ecological criteria into account alongside building criteria. Concepts such as “Minergie” or “MinergieP” are applied. Where ever possible, the foundation employs renewable materials when undertaking a building renovation.