Baylor University

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

Baylor’s 24-member sustainability committee, which includes one student and two community representatives, advises the administration on environmental issues. The university hired a full-time sustainability coordinator in 2009 along with one part-time support person. Baylor purchases a variety of environmentally preferable paper products, appliances, and cleaning supplies.

Baylor recently installed low-emission boilers, and the school uses environmental temperature control systems for optimal system performance. Through a recent ten-year energy contract, Baylor is helping to finance the generation of wind energy and its incorporation into the Texas power grid.

In fall 2008, all four of Baylor’s residential restaurants went trayless. The university recently introduced reusable to-go containers as a replacement for polystyrene. Each week, 300 pounds of coffee grounds are collected and distributed to local farmers. The university purchases local produce and milk through a distributor and offers exclusively fair trade coffee.

Although Baylor has no formal green building policy, two campus buildings have been built to meet LEED certification criteria, and one building is LEED-EB-certified. All construction waste is diverted.

New students arriving at Baylor receive recycling and energy conservation education during residence hall orientation, and the sustainability coordinator hosts a sustainability table at every new-student orientation event. The Environmental Concern Organization helped initiate a campus-wide recycling program.

The university runs a campus-wide shuttle system that includes one route downtown. The campus fleet includes three road-class electric vehicles, and the master plan is helping to create a walking environment on campus by moving vehicles to the periphery.

The university makes information about endowment holdings available only to the board of regents and senior administrators. A list of votes cast on proxy resolutions, only by category, is made available to the board of regents and senior administrators.

The university aims to optimize investment return and is currently invested in renewable energy funds.

The university provides its investment managers with general guidelines that determine its proxy votes.