University of North Carolina

College Sustainability Report Card 2008

Chancellor Moeser has signed the Presidents Climate Commitment and the chancellor’s cabinet has adopted a campus sustainability policy. The Vice Chancellor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee advises on sustainability initiatives and recommends changes in university policy. An energy-efficient purchasing policy mandates purchase of Energy Star equipment and an energy-efficient lighting policy will phase out the use of most incandescent lamps by January 31, 2008.

A five-million-gallon thermal storage tank reduces the peak campus electrical demand by 10 megawatts. The energy services department is actively pursuing alternative energy sources for central plants including landfill gas, animal waste methane, and wood biomass. Students have funded a solar thermal system to heat water at a renovated residence hall.

Dining services spends just under 10 percent of its annual budget on locally grown food from five local producers and a local dairy. However, students are advocating that dining services use more organic foods in their menus. Food scraps and yard waste are composted and used as mulch on campus. Used cooking oil is recycled into biodiesel and from 2006 to 2007, 43 percent of all waste was recycled.

Guidelines require that new buildings be designed to a LEED Silver performance level. The first LEED-certified building was completed in 2005 and three buildings under design will seek LEED Platinum certification. There are 14 LEED-accredited professionals on staff. The university’s new campus, Carolina North, is being designed as a carbon neutral campus with alternative energy sources, building design guidelines considerably above the LEED Silver level, and an emphasis on alternative transportation.

The Commuter Alternatives program encourages individuals to use alternative modes of transportation. Vanpools are subsidized and carpools receive preferential parking. The university makes the Chapel Hill transit system free to all riders. All campus P2P Xpress shuttle buses run on biodiesel. The use of flex-fuel vehicles is being maximized, and an E-85 fuel tank will soon be installed on campus.

The University has no known policy of disclosure of endowment holdings or its shareholder voting record.

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

The university has not made any public statements about active ownership or a proxy voting policy.