Dartmouth College

College Sustainability Report Card 2007

Dartmouth recently hired a Sustainability Coordinator to work with four student interns and the Resource Working Group - a collaboration of administrators, faculty and staff - to increase implementation of sustainable practices on campus. The College prepares an annual Sustainability Report that tracks consumed energy and water, as well as emissions and solid waste. The Dartmouth Sustainability Initiative created a website that highlights their projects and initiatives and provides detailed information on energy efficiency. The website is promoted on 5,000 light switch stickers encouraging conservation.

The College recently hired an energy conservation technician whose sole job is to find energy conservation opportunities in existing buildings. This year alone, Dartmouth reduced energy use by 5.5 percent thanks to energy conservation efforts by both students and staff. A carbon inventory resulting from burned heating fuels and purchased electricity has been conducted. Within six months the College will be purchasing green tag renewable energy credits or investing in local green power production. Thirty buildings have been analyzed for compatibility with solar thermal systems and the best three candidates are currently being submitted for a preliminary assessment of energy production from these sites. Some photovoltaic panels currently provide campus power, as well.

Dartmouth’s Local Food Project is an ongoing program to organize local farmers in New Hampshire and Vermont to supply a sustainable source of local foods to the College. A Sustainable Dining Committee has been formed that is focused upon creating a waste-free dining prototype in one dining venue. In addition, a Sustainable Dining Club allows members to dine waste-free by issuing students a refillable water bottle and mug, a cloth napkin, silverware, and unlimited use of returnable take-out containers. The College also maintains a student-run composting facility, opened in 1992, that composts the full range of wastes from campus. Compost is used on campus landscaping.

Dartmouth has adopted LEED principles as part of its building policy. The College has five projects registered in the LEED program and plans to implement construction on a number of them in the near term. Among these is a new $17.6 million LEED-certified residence hall that will serve as a model of sustainable living for its students.

Dartmouth’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility (ACIR) produces an annual report containing information about every recommendation available to the Dartmouth community and any interested outside party by posting the annual report on Dartmouth’s website. Any Dartmouth community member can view a hard-copy listing of all publicly traded shares that the College directly owns by visiting the College’s investment office.

The College prioritizes investing to maximize profit and has not made any public statements about investigating or investing in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

The ACIR (which is comprised of faculty, administrators, students, and alumni members) deliberates and makes recommendations on all proxy resolutions pertaining to social and environmental issues - not corporate governance issues - submitted to companies in which the College directly holds shares. These shares constitute approximately 30 percent of the College's endowment. The ACIR does not make recommendations to fund managers in regards to the voting of proxy resolutions for companies held by such managers or in mutual funds.