Middlebury College

Middlebury College is a signatory of the international Talloires Declaration and has committed to reducing its emissions to 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. A clause about environmental stewardship is among the first two sentences of the College's new Mission Statement. A Sustainability Coordinator position was established in 1998, and one of the duties of this position is to advise incoming faculty, staff and students on energy conservation practices. An interdepartmental environmental council works to design and recommend environmental policy to the president and the trustees, and a position for dean of environmental affairs is being created, as well.

Students recently replaced 2,300 older, inefficient light bulbs with ones that are 66 percent more efficient. The College has a solar array on campus and, in 2005, received a grant from the Department of Energy to build a 10 kilowatt wind turbine that is currently supplying power to the grid. A meteorological tower was installed on the top of the College's ski hill to monitor wind conditions and determine the feasibility of installing a wind turbine on the site. If the project is successful, the turbine will be used to power the ski area operations.

The College spends 25 percent of its annual budget on locally grown foods and has had a long tradition of supporting local farmers and suppliers. As it stands, 30 percent of the College's food comes from within Vermont. Composting efforts reduce the waste stream by 20 percent, and recycling efforts reduce it further by an additional 55 percent. The recycling program accepts everything from bottles to clothes, text books, and other items.

Since 1999, the College has followed green building standards, which incorportate innovative design practices and the use of Vermont Family Forest green certified wood. The College is currently seeking LEED certification for a $4 million renovation of the Hillcrest Environmental Center, which is expected to receive a Silver or Gold rating. This renovation will join a growing number of green buildings on campus.

Middlebury currently makes neither its proxy voting record nor its list of endowment holdings public. This information is only available to trustees and senior administrators. In 2006, an advisory committee that includes student and faculty representatives, was also granted access to a list of endowment holdings.

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.

In 2006, the College created the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investment, which includes faculty, staff, and student representatives. The committee is charged with making recommendations to the investment committee of the board of trustees in regard to proxy voting and related matters of shareholder engagement.