16- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Here are the actions that UdeM and its community are doing for inclusive and participatory governance, and investment disclosure.
Inclusive and Participatory Governance
Formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which the following stakeholders can regularly participate in the governance of the institution:
- Students
- Academic staff
- Non-academic staff
Composed of about 100 members of the community, the University Assembly sets out the general principles that govern the direction and development of the University and makes recommendations to the Council to this end. It also makes regulations concerning the status of professors and monitors their application.
About ten committees report to it. The University Assembly meets about ten times a year. Its meeting records are available to the public.
The University's Statutes define in more detail its powers and rules of composition, while its internal regulations define its day-to-day operations.
Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body: 24
Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body: 12
Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women: 50
Website URL where information about the institution’s highest governing body may be found: secretariatgeneral.umontreal.ca/gouvernance/conseil-de-luniversite/
The campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
The framework of University Assembly and Council is provided for by the Statutes of University of Montreal. The Statutes allows for the appointment or election of various stakeholders of the University of Montreal community to the University Assembly and to the University Council, as well as to their respective Committees.
Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available: secretariatgeneral.umontreal.ca/gouvernance/
Investment Disclosure
Percentage of the total investment pool included in the snapshot of investment holdings at each of the following levels of detail:
Percentage (0-100) | ||
| Specific funds and/or companies | 78.6 | |
| Investment managers and/or basic portfolio composition (i.e. asset classes), but not specific funds or companies | 21.4 |
The University of Montreal engage in proxy voting.
Website URL where the investment holdings snapshot is publicly available:
Sustainable Investment
POSITIVE SUSTAINABILITY INVESTMENT
Total value of the investment pool: 401,753,198.0 US/Canadian $
Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments: 8.9
Includes investments in a renewable infrastructure fund and investments in green bonds and sustainability bonds via a fixed income fund.
Sustainability investment funds (e.g., a renewable energy or impact investment fund) : 32,121,333.0 US/Canadian $
Green revolving funds funded from the endowment : 3,742,552.0 US/Canadian $
INVESTOR ENGAGEMENT
A copy of the sustainable investment policy
Currently: secure/899/8/781/7547/adm10_53-Politique_matiere_investissement_responsable_fonds_dotation.pdf
The RI Policy specifies that ESG issues should be incorporated into managers' selection and appointment and lists the main elements that are to be examined. During the selection, the potential managers are evaluated based on two main criteria: if they are PRI signatory and their ESG incorporation into the investment process. Generally, ESG-related questions are incorporated into the RFP or similar documents, and during the meetings with potential candidates. To determine the level of ESG incorporation into the investment process we evaluate:
• the RI policy and related policies
• if not PRI signatory, adherence to similar guidelines, codes etc.
• if available, their PRI public transparency report and assessment report
• method of ESG incorporation into investment and decision-making process
• proxy voting policy and disclosed proxy voting results
• internal ESG research
• ESG databases used (internal and external)
• dedicated ESG team/personnel and their role/interaction with the investment teams
• collaborative engagements
• standard ESG reporting practices.
During the selection, ESG considerations are assigned a specific weighting in the investment manager evaluation. The ESG-related questions may vary across asset classes and investment style/strategies.
The endowment has its own proxy voting guidelines and exercises its voting rights via an external service provider.
Divestment efforts and negative screensThe endowment will divest its equity portfolio from the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels sector (as defined by GICS) by 2025.
Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to: 4.12
Investor networksUdeM is a PRI signatory and takes part in the Quebec Network workshops. Also, UdeM is a signatory to the Investing to Address Climate Change: A Charter for Canadian Universities, and takes part in its working committee whose objective is to share and advance climate-related practices.
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
Participation in Public Policy
Institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level:
The Université de Montréal is an active and permanent member of the Table de concertation du Mont-Royal, under the aegis of the Ville de Montréal
The Table brings together several stakeholders concerned with the future of Mount Royal, including representatives from the institutional, association, governmental and municipal sectors. The members of the Table, headed by a president, meet several times a year and their objective is to establish a consensus on accessibility, protection and enhancement of the territory and to implement actions aimed at the harmonious management and development of Mount Royal.
Within the Mount Royal consensus-building table, the Université de Montréal is a member of the Planning and Consultation Committee (COAC) of .
In recent years, it has initiated the establishment of the Mount Royal Community of Practice, in which 10 major institutions located on the mountain participate. Its mandate is to improve the management of protected areas (for example, by implementing differentiated management of spaces) as well as the integration of best practices in terms of biodiversity on the grounds of institutions.
The Mount Royal Community of Practice also allows for the collective identification and resolution of issues concerning this heritage site. Recently, it proposed and influenced the conversion of the former Royal Victoria Hospital parking lot to a woodlot, adding to the protected natural area.
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-to-expand-mount-royal-park-remove-some-visitor-parking
Institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level:
The University of Montreal was actively involved in the creation of the National Strategy for the Purchase of Quebec Food: For Local Food in Public Institutions in 2021-2022.
The strategy
The Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) has mandated the Centre of Expertise of the Quebec Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (ITHQ) to accompany government institutions wishing to increase their percentage of local food purchases. This major project, which will be spread out over three years, is aimed primarily at establishments in the health network and educational institutions.
Institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level:
International collaboration and research
Universite de Montreal, through international collaboration and research, reviews comparative approaches and develops international best practice on tackling the SDGs. For example, the TOPICS project is a collaboration between our university's International Health Unit and the Research Institute for Development that involves citizens in Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso in improving their healthcare system by making it better adapted to their needs.
Also, the Quebec Population Health Research Network includes a research group on global health headed by Prof. Lisa Merry, a professor at our university's Faculty of Nursing. The group's research on global health is adjusted to fit with the 17 SDGs and its members include researchers from around the world.
Co-organized by the International Health Unit (USI), the RENARD Team, the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), the Research Center for Human Reproduction and Demography (CERRHUD), the National Network of NGOs for Women's Development (RENADEF), and Action-gouvernance-interaction-strengthening (AGIR-SD), a deliberative workshop was held on February 16 and 17, 2021 The event brought together teams from the Technologies Participation citoyenne en santé (TOPICs) project in Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Burkina Faso to share the project's mid-term results and lessons learned. The event was attended by experts from the various organizations involved in the project, as well as representatives from the Ministries of Health in Benin, the DRC, and Burkina Faso.
https://usi.umontreal.ca/nouvelles-et-infolettre/nouvelles/nouvelle/news/detail/News/technologies-democratie-et-sante-les-resultats-du-projet-topics-a-mi-parcours/
NGOs
Also, the University collaborates with NGOs. For example, in connection with SDG3 on health, the TOPICS project is acollaboration between our university'sInternational Health Unit and many NGOs, suchas the Centre de Recherche en Reproduction Humaine et en Démographie and the Réseau National des ONG pour le Developpement de la Femme. The project involves citizens in Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso in improving their healthcare system by making it better adapted to their needs.
Our university'sInternational Health Unit is also involved, withthe Centre for International Studies andCooperation, in the Yellen project, a project onreproductive health in Mali.
https://www.santepop.qc.ca/en/groupings/global-health