Beyond Divestment: Decarbonizing our Investment Portfolio

Published On

February 1, 2023

A wind turbine in front of a smoke stack

For over 80 years, the environment has been one of the most enduring commitments of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF).

Last November, the RBF adopted a plan to spend an additional $100 million over the next ten years to address the climate crisis and the political and economic systems that drive and reflect it. Climate-related grants will constitute just under 50 percent of the Fund’s total 2023 grantmaking.

Today, the RBF released a report describing new steps we are taking to further align our investment portfolio with global climate goals long supported by our grantmaking programs. In Beyond Divestment: Decarbonizing Our Investment Portfolio, we share findings from an initial carbon footprint analysis of our investments. Our endowment portfolio is already a climate outperformer; however, it falls short of the imperative to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

ASSOCIATED TEMPERATURE INCREASE BY 2050

A target graphic: the inner circle shows the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario associated with 1.5 degrees of warming; the next ring shows the RBF public markets portfolio with an associated temperature increase of 2.1 degrees; and the outer ring shows the policy benchmark associated with a 2.9 degree increase.

Going forward, the RBF is working to align our endowment portfolio with science-based emission targets. The report outlines further steps the RBF will take to decarbonize its endowment, support the development of industry standards, and mobilize peers to help accelerate a just transition to a low-carbon economy.

Read the full report.