Clemson University

College Sustainability Report Card 2008

President Barker has signed the Presidents Climate Commitment. The Clemson University Environmental Committee is made up of students, faculty, and staff, and is charged with coordinating campus sustainability efforts. The university has adopted several environmental policies, including those related to green building, waste minimization, and energy conservation.

The university has adopted a plan and policy for campus-wide energy conservation strategies and has committed to purchasing green power credits from its energy provider. A pilot project is underway to reduce the environmental footprint of the power plant on campus.

The university recycled 18.1 percent of its waste stream during the 2006–2007 school year as part of its comprehensive recycling program. Clemson promotes end-of-semester programs to collect unwanted items from residence halls for donation to local charities. Dining services purchases food from 28 local farms and producers and offers fair-trade and organic foods at two restaurants on campus. Clemson makes its own blue cheese and ice cream, as well as agricultural products such as meat and organic produce, which is available through dining services.

The university’s Advanced Materials Research Laboratory was the first public facility in South Carolina to be LEED Silver-certified. Clemson has a green building policy requiring that all new facilities larger than 5,000 square feet, and renovations costing more than 50 percent of building replacement value must achieve LEED Silver certification. Eight other major capital projects are being built to meet LEED Silver standards.

The university and the city of Clemson have a partnership in the Clemson Area Transit system, the largest fare-free bus system in the nation. The system has routes to and from campus to three other colleges and four cities in three different counties, offering students and employees an alternative to driving their own cars on and off campus. The university’s parking services department uses four electric vehicles to transport parking enforcement officers around campus. The department’s goal is to have ten such vehicles, replacing all the SUVs used for parking enforcement.

The Clemson University Foundation owns no direct investment in any publicly held company, so shareholder voting is not applicable. The university has no known policy of disclosure of endowment holdings.

The Clemson University Foundation aims to optimize investment return and does not invest directly in energy funds or community development funds.

The Clemson University Foundation owns no direct investment in any publicly held company and does not have the ability to vote proxies.