University of Iowa

College Sustainability Report Card 2008

The University of Iowa’s operations manual contains a long-standing environmental policy, which defines specific guiding principles and commitments. Multiple advisory councils exist, including the Energy Advisory Council, the Green Power Task Force, and the Recycling Task Force. The university has included faculty and students in crafting renewable energy and conservation strategies, and employs five LEED-accredited professionals and three energy engineers.

The university has committed to reducing its baseline emissions through the Chicago Climate Exchange. To achieve this, oat hulls, purchased from nearby Quaker Oats, are used as biofuel for the campus boiler, reducing campus emissions by 20 percent. The Energy Conservation and Management Plan commits the university to reliance upon renewable resources for up to 15 percent of its energy and a 10 percent reduction in energy use per square foot by 2013. The university currently runs on about 11 percent renewable energy.

The Sustainable Food Systems Task Force, comprised of multiple stakeholders, was recently formed to enhance the sustainability of the university’s food systems. Residential dining began serving cage-free, organic, locally produced eggs on a permanent basis this fall. In early 2007, facilities management, dining services, and the city of Iowa City facilitated a student-proposed composting project, which has already turned 35 tons of campus food waste into compost to be used for campus landscaping. There is a comprehensive recycling program that diverted 22 percent of the university’s waste in 2006.

The university has developed campus design standards that include practices for energy and water efficiency as well as regional and low-emitting materials. There are currently three buildings registered for LEED certification.

Out of 544 fleet vehicles, 214 are powered with flex-fuel engines, consuming 110,000 gallons of E85 in 2007. The diesel fleet runs on 10 percent biodiesel and there are eight hybrids in use, as well. The university offers free shuttle service on campus, servicing over 3.7 million riders annually, and operates 75 vans transporting 805 staff members to work. Students and staff receive discounted bus passes and the university funds campus bike programs.

A list of endowment holdings is made available to the university community and also to the public, and is accessible on the university website. The university does not maintain a record of its proxy voting.

The university aims to optimize investment return and does not invest in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

The university asks that its investment managers handle the details of proxy voting.