Johns Hopkins University

College Sustainability Report Card 2007

As a major formal step towards sustainability, the University hired its first Manager of Energy and Environmental Stewardship in the spring of 2006. Soon after, the University launched a Sustainability Initiative to coordinate sustainability activities and to develop new programs that will help to reduce the University’s environmental impact.

The new Manager of Energy and Environmental Stewardship began work in spring 2006 to upgrade inefficient appliances and lighting on campus. Energy retrofits in certain buildings have resulted in energy conservation of over 50 percent. Carbon emissions are currently being inventoried and electric vehicles are used for some campus transportation needs. The University intends to secure a percentage of green electricity by working with wind power developers and with a local dairy farm that converts food and farm wastes into green electricity through anaerobic digestion. Plans are being developed to install solar thermal panels on the recreation center to provide heating and hot water needs.

Johns Hopkins recently switched its dining services providers from Sodexho to Aramark, citing improved environmental services as an influential reason for the change. Dining services managers prioritize the purchasing of locally sourced produce and seafood, and organic food is being integrated into the menu. In addition, the smaller cafés around campus sell exclusively organic, shade-grown coffees. There is currently a small pilot composting program on the undergraduate campus.

The University is currently pursuing LEED certification for several new and existing buildings and typically considers the feasibility of LEED programs for all new projects that involve upgrades of existing buildings or new construction. For minor renovations, the University uses LEED principals as guideposts. Retrofits include a green roof deck, experimentation with waterless urinals and low-flow showerheads, and upgraded florescent lighting that has reduced lighting load on one campus by over 40 percent. Similar lighting retrofits are underway at all other campuses. In 2004, one campus completed a water conservation retrofit that annually saves over eight million gallons of water.

The University makes neither its proxy voting record nor a list of endowment holdings public. This information is only available to trustees and senior administrators upon request.

The University prioritizes investing to maximize profit and is also invested in community development financial institutions or loan funds. In addition, Johns Hopkins is exploring renewable energy investment funds or similar investment vehicles.

At the present time, Johns Hopkins uses the services of Institutional Shareholder Services to vote proxies. However, with the 2007 proxy season, investment managers will vote the proxies.