University of New Mexico

College Sustainability Report Card 2008

President Schmidly has signed the Presidents Climate Commitment for all five campuses. The development of a sustainability policy is underway, with implementation anticipated by the end of 2007. The university has a sustainability task force.

The university board of regents recently voted to support an energy services performance contract that will help develop the university’s energy conservation program. The Taos campus is fully wind powered and has some solar water heating, which has reduced energy usage by 8.2 percent. In 2004 the university was awarded Project of the Year by Energy User News for its utility upgrades and retrofits.

The university purchases a small amount of local foods from two farms. The transportation department has contacted dining services to look into producing biodiesel for campus vehicles. There is a comprehensive recycling program that includes all green waste, and outdoor recycling bins were recently installed.

All new construction at UNM will be designed to achieve LEED certification. The Taos campus has several green buildings. Retrofits of older buildings to reduce energy usage have been ongoing.

All of the university’s new vehicles use E85 ethanol fuel. The current fleet includes vehicles powered by compressed natural gas. City buses are free for students, and faculty receive a discount. Shuttles are provided to the train station. Bike racks and lockers are available on campus, and there is also a bike shop for repairs.

The university and the UNM 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 the UNM 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 the UNM Foundation ask that investment managers handle the details of proxy voting.