Albion College

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

Albion College has developed a strategic plan that includes components pertaining to sustainability. The Sustainability Council, chaired by a student, holds meetings that are open to the college community and the public. As an action under the Presidents Climate Commitment, Albion purchases Energy Star appliances. The school maintains a sustainability website.

Albion recently completed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. In 2008, facilities upgraded a campus mechanical system to improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality, and the college is currently installing high-efficiency lighting. A small residential unit has a solar hot water system, and the campus has some solar panels and a demonstration wind turbine.

Dining services purchases some local and organic foods and offers fair trade coffee. Albion also sources vegan burgers and vegan cookies from a local producer. The school has a comprehensive recycling program, including electronics and cooking oil, and an end-of-semester furniture and clothing swap helps reduce waste.

The college's new science complex achieved LEED Silver certification, and renovations to Olin Hall incorporated various green building technologies.

Students living in the E-House sustainable living-learning center participate in an environmental sustainability course while they reside in the house. The house aims to show how old wooden homes typical of the Midwest can be inhabited sustainably. Eco Club and Environmental Institute students organize a campus-wide sustainability fair each semester, run a bicycle-lending program, and run an afterschool environmental and sustainability program for school children.

A new bicycle-sharing program offers free daily rentals to all campus community members. The science complex has refueling stations for alternative-fuel vehicles, and parking lots have reserved spaces for carpools. The campus safety department provides a weekly shuttle from campus to retail establishments in the local town.

The college makes information about the endowment holdings available only to trustees and faculty representatives to the trustee investment committee. The college does not make its shareholder voting record public.

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

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