Emeryville council adopts annual investment policy with ESG exclusions; staff to provide policy redline

The Emeryville City Council voted unanimously to adopt the city—s annual statement of investment policy and to delegate authority to the finance director, after a short discussion about socially responsible investing provisions.

Council Member Pryfors asked whether the city—s policy explicitly limits investments in institutions involved in "harmful industries," citing the need to compare Emeryville—s policy with neighboring cities. Finance Director Sharon Frederikson pointed the council to the policy—s Sustainable and Responsible Investing section (redline, page 6), which she said prioritizes investments that support community well-being, fair labor and equality and explicitly restricts investments in tobacco-related products, the production of weapons or military systems and the production or distribution of fossil fuels.

Carl Meng of Chandler Investment, who joined by phone, told the council Emeryville—s SRI provision is more restrictive than some peers and that the city reviews and updates the investment policy annually, typically to reflect changes in California law. Meng advised the council that excluding entire sectors can affect portfolio diversification and should be considered as a trade-off.

With no public comment, a council member moved to approve the resolution adopting the annual statement of investment policy and delegating authority to the finance director; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll-call vote with all present members voting Aye.

Staff offered to provide the current policy redline and additional peer comparisons for members who requested more detail.