Lawrence University

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

The Green Roots steering committee surveyed campus operations to identify areas of improvement and has subcommittees on energy, transportation, food, groundskeeping, water, and paper use. The university purchases some recycled content paper and Green Seal cleaning products. Most appliance replacements are Energy Star certified.

The university has a policy for temperature set points and changed its academic calendar to save energy by remaining closed from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. The university has increased boiler efficiency, installed variable frequency drives at some locations, and worked to optimize building scheduling for energy savings. Heating has been decentralized in most of the campus, and there is an initiative to bring 2 kilowatts of solar power to campus.

Dining services purchased more than 2,000 pounds of produce from the student garden last year. The university serves only cage-free eggs, hormone- and antibiotic-free poultry and beef, and hormone-free milk. All seafood is purchased in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines. Some food scraps are composted at the student garden, dining halls are trayless, and reusable beverage containers are given to students to reduce the need for disposable cups. The university holds a furniture and clothing swap to reduce waste.

The new Ward Campus Center is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification. All academic buildings have occupancy sensors and low-flow fixtures. In the university's most recent project, 95 percent of all construction waste was diverted from the landfill.

Students can choose an environmentally themed living community for housing. The Greenfire student organization worked to improve the university's recycling program and held several educational campaigns for energy use reduction in dorms. The Committee on Environmental Responsibility within the student government is responsible for crafting environmental policy for student life. The committee is currently exploring ways to reduce the number of student-owned cars on campus.

The university operates a shuttle to several local destinations, as well as between the campus and the athletic complex. There is a bicycle-sharing program, and vehicles are not permitted to travel through campus.

The university makes neither a list of endowment holdings nor its shareholder voting record publicly accessible.

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

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