Georgetown University

College Sustainability Report Card 2008

Georgetown University is in the process of developing a comprehensive sustainability policy. There is a director for sustainability initiatives as well as an active sustainability advisory committee that includes senior administrators, faculty, staff and students. The Georgetown Center for the Environment was established in 1996 as a forum for addressing environmental issues.

The university has a 300-kilowatt photovoltaic array on a roof of a seven-story academic building in the heart of the campus. It is the longest running project of its scale still operating in the country. Georgetown has also run the lowest emission high-pressure plant in the District of Columbia since 1997, and utilizes a 2.2 million gallon thermal storage tank located under a parking garage to reduce power demand and cost. The university is in the process of conducting a carbon emissions inventory and plans to purchase green power or renewable energy credits. While Georgetown is a member of the Ivy Plus Sustainability Working Group, which has identified emissions reduction as a goal, no formal commitment has been made.

A new contract with Aramark is expected to bring more local, organic, and sustainable foods to the dining halls. Dining services purchases from a local dairy and uses cage-free eggs and organic field greens. Used cooking oil is recycled and excess food is donated to a local shelter. Georgetown has a comprehensive recycling program that includes construction waste and sheet metal. Landscaping waste is composted off-site.

As of 2007, all new construction and major renovation projects utilize the LEED and Labs21 certification programs. In addition, Georgetown is updating design guidelines for existing buildings. Standards include motion sensors, Energy Star appliances, and low-flow plumbing in all construction and renovation.

The university provides free shuttle service between major subway stations and the campus. Carpoolers park on campus free of charge and free or discounted parking rates are offered to faculty and staff who park in satellite locations and ride the shuttle to campus. As part of a research program managed by the university, Georgetown houses two of the six fuel cell buses in existence in the country. Bike racks are located throughout campus.

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

The university aims to optimize investment return and is invested in renewable energy investment funds or similar investment vehicles.

Georgetown’s Committee for Social Responsibility in Investing, comprised of administrators and faculty, determines proxy votes for separately managed accounts.