Arizona State University–Tempe

President Crow is a cofounder of the Presidents Climate Commitment and is chair of its steering board. The Global Institute of Sustainability serves as both the academic center and operational headquarters for sustainability issues on campus, employing four full-time sustainability officers. The university has a green purchasing policy that mandates almost exclusive use of green cleaning products and gives preference to Energy Star and recycled products.

As part of its carbon neutrality strategic plan, the university recently completed the ASU Energy Conservation Project, which retrofitted more than 80 campus buildings to increase efficiency. The project reduces annual carbon emissions by 70 million pounds. Furthermore, the school is installing 2 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity on Tempe campus roofs, with a planned expansion to 7 megawatts in the future, meeting 7 percent of campus electricity needs.

Dining services works with 35 local growers and producers to supply over 20 percent of its food. Furthermore, the university sources a variety of fruit and herbs from on-campus gardens and trees. The new environmentally conscious restaurant, Engrained, will feature a changing menu that uses local, seasonal, organic, and humanely treated ingredients.

LEED Silver certification is required for all new construction. The university has 11 LEED-certified buildings on campus, four of which have achieved Gold certification, and one of which has achieved Platinum.

ASU has seven sustainability-related student organizations, including a vegetarian/vegan group. In fall 2008, residential life will open a pilot sustainability house, with plans for expansion to an entire residential hall upon completion of the new Barrett College complex in 2009.

Through the U-Pass and an inter-campus shuttle, ASU provides free transportation around the Phoenix area. The campus vehicle fleet is being transitioned to alternative fuels, including two solar-powered carts. The student government manages a half-price bicycle co-op and a bike-share program.

The ASU Foundation makes a list of endowment holdings available to trustees, senior administrators, and other select members of the school community. This information is available at the investment office.

Although the ASU Foundation’s investment policy provisions do not require consideration of sustainability factors, the foundation utilizes some investment managers that have an allocation to investments that take environmental factors into consideration.

The ASU Foundation’s investment pools are invested entirely in mutual funds and commingled or fixed-income investments, with no opportunity to vote proxies.