Oklahoma State University

College Sustainability Report Card 2008

Oklahoma State University recently formed a campus-wide sustainability task force charged with proposing an agenda to stimulate sustainability research, incorporate sustainability into educational programs, and expand the application of sustainability principles on campus. Additionally, a committee has been established to look at sustainability initiatives on campus, but there are no full-time positions devoted entirely to sustainability.

The university has adopted an energy conservation policy. OSU has retained the services of Energy Education, Inc., to implement a multi-year conservation education program. The program’s aim is to implement standardized best practices and programs to promote responsible energy management by students, administrators, faculty, and staff. In addition, the university is the largest consumer of wind power from its utilities provider.

The university does not currently offer organic products or source food from local producers. Dining services offers refillable beverage mugs to students and recycles paper products. The university is looking into the possibility of converting cooking oil into biodiesel.

The university’s building policy requires that project teams consider LEED certification for all construction. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver criteria have been incorporated into several of the university’s building design standards.

Carpooling is encouraged through discounts on parking permits and other incentives. OSU BUS runs routes within the city of Stillwater and between campuses to reduce the need for students, faculty, and staff to use individual automobiles. The campus master plan restricts vehicular traffic on the interior of the campus, making it more pedestrian friendly.

The university and OSU Foundation have no known policy of disclosure of endowment holdings or shareholder voting records. Therefore, there is no known ability to access this information.

The university and OSU Foundation aim to optimize investment return and have not made any public statements about investigating or investing in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

The university and OSU Foundation have not made any public statements about active ownership or a proxy voting policy.