University of Utah

College Sustainability Report Card 2008

In its pilot year, the Office of Sustainability will develop a strategic plan that will outline approaches for implementing green purchasing policies, engaging the campus in sustainability initiatives, and proposing targets for reducing energy/water use and waste. In fall 2007, President Young will announce members of the President’s Sustainability Advisory Board.

The university has purchased 36 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits, and has been named one of the EPA’s Top 10 Green Power Partners. In 2005, students at the University of Utah established a fund, approved by the board of trustees, that allows the carbon emissions from 10 percent of the university’s electricity to be offset by wind-generated sources. A consultant began an awareness program in 2004 that resulted in reduced energy consumption with net savings of approximately $400,000 annually.

An upgraded and comprehensive recycling program was implemented in June 2007 and includes paper, cardboard, and aluminum. The university expects that it will divert 40 percent of waste. Chartwells, the dining services provider, purchases 30 percent of its produce from local sources during the growing season.

The university subscribes at a minimum to the state of Utah’s Building Energy Efficiency Program, which promotes energy efficiency in state-owned buildings. The recently completed Warnock Engineering Building was a pilot project for developing the standards. The Health Sciences Building is LEED-certified and four other projects still in construction will seek LEED certification.

The university is developing a comprehensive master plan that partially aims to reduce the number of single- ccupant vehicles on campus. A comprehensive shuttle bus program includes vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), waste vegetable oil, and biodiesel. The motor pool includes such alternative technologies as CNG, hybrid, flex-fuel, and biodiesel. Students, faculty, and staff ride public transportation free through the Utah Transit Authority Education Pass Program. The university has experienced increased mass transit ridership recently due to expanded public transportation.

The university has no known policy of disclosure of endowment holdings or its shareholder voting record. Therefore, there is no known ability to access this information.

The university aims to optimize investment return and has not made any public statements about investigating or investing in community development loan funds. A TIAA-CREF managed social/environmental investment is available to donors.

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