Swarthmore College

College Sustainability Report Card 2007

Swarthmore College has several progressive projects now being implemented, including a wind power purchase equaling 5 percent of campus needs, participation in the Pennsylvania Farm-to-College program, and a new Science Center that was recently LEED-certified. The College's Organization for Sustainability has been promoting these issues, so far unaided by a sustainability coordinator.

The College has made efforts to conserve energy through schedule monitoring and the installation of energy efficient lighting, heating, and cooling equipment. A student group works to identify waste and communicate conservation strategies to students. Five percent of campus energy needs come from Pennsylvania wind farms.

The College is a participant in Pennsylvania’s Farm-to-College program, which organizes local farmers to secure business contracts and promotes locally grown food at colleges and universities throughout the state. The College has a campus-wide recycling program and most yard waste is composted into mulch for campus landscaping.

The College is in the middle of a large capital project that has incorporated some green building into the design of certain buildings. The new Science Center is LEED Certified, the College's first LEED-certified facility. The College has also developed about 5,000 square feet of vegetated roof and intends to develop more.

The proxy voting decisions made by the Committee on Investor Responsibility are available to the school community and also to the public, and are accessible on the college website. A list of endowment holdings are only available to trustees, senior administrators, and the investment office staff.

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 Committee on Investor Responsibility (CIR) is an advisory committee to the Investment Committee of the Board of Managers, and consists of four students, three staff, and two members of the Board's Investment Committee. The CIR prepares proxy recommendations on social and environmental issues and has filed several shareholder resolutions. The College's investment managers vote governance issues.