Emory University

College Sustainability Report Card 2007

A director for sustainability initiatives was hired in 2006 and will work closely with the chief environmental officer to develop, implement, and evaluate sustainability initiatives across campus. The Committee on the Environment has existed since 1990. The University is a leader in green building, with one of largest square-foot areas of LEED-certified buildings in the country, and has committed to a 25 percent reduction in campus energy use by 2015, along with a 65 percent reduction in the campus waste stream. More recently, a Sustainability Vision has been outlined, which, in addition to the aforementioned initiatives, includes a "no net loss of forest canopy" policy on campus.

The local energy provider, Georgia Power, does not offer a renewable energy credits program, so Emory uses other avenues to address energy and climate issues. The University, which has conducted a carbons emissions inventory, has adopted an energy conservation policy and an energy conservation plan, with a goal to reduce per-foot energy use by 25 percent by 2015. In addition, Emory has an extensive alternative fuel vehicle program that includes a fleet of 42 electric vehicles for campus activities, 13 compressed natural gas shuttles, and Garage Mahal, a parking deck that accommodates 50 electric chargers, including chargers for the University's proposed 15 electric buses.

While dining services has some limited plans already in place, it has set a goal to provide 75 percent of the food it serves from local or sustainable sources by 2015. Additionally, the University will reduce its waste stream by 65 percent through recycling, composting, and other efforts in the same timeframe. Incorporating local, sustainably grown food will prove to be difficult given the lack of providers in the area, but the University hopes to spur the growth of a new sector of farmers through their programs.

The trustees have committed to certifying all building under the LEED guidelines and the current goal is for all construction to seek Gold certification. The Goizueta Business School was the first LEED-EB Gold-certified building on a university campus. The University has four other LEED-certified buildings for a total of 1.1 million square feet that has been or is in the process of acquiring LEED certification. As a result, Emory currently has the highest number of certified green buildings of any campus in the country. The University is also using an Earthcraft rating system for a new sorority village that will open fall 2007.

The University does not make its proxy voting record public. With regards to its investment holdings, only asset class performance, sector allocation, and geographic diversification information is available to the public. This information is accessible on the website and in the annual report. Only the investment committee of the board of trustees, the president, and the executive vice president of finance and administration see the manager names and detailed performance.

The University prioritizes investing to maximize profit and is exploring renewable energy investment funds or similar investment vehicles.

The University asks that its investment managers handle the details of proxy voting and report in summary to Emory Investment Management.