Lewis and Clark College

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

The Sustainability Council, with representation from students, faculty, and staff, successfully created a bike loan program and is working to create a form for travel reimbursements that will require users to calculate their carbon emissions. Over 70 percent of housekeeping chemicals are Green Seal–certified, and copy paper is made of 30 percent recycled content. Facilities has an Energy Star equipment policy.

The campus has reduced emissions by 4 percent since 2006. The college has a solar array and purchases renewable energy credits to offset approximately one quarter of its electricity. Lighting retrofits have been completed, and a building metering project is underway.

The college purchases produce and meats from 22 local farms, and milk from a local dairy. Dining services serves only cage-free eggs and hormone-free milk and beef. Seafood is purchased in accordance with Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines. Dining services composts 70 tons of food scraps per year, and the campus has a 51 percent waste diversion rate. The Critical Blast swap party at the end of the year allows for the exchange and donation of used items.

All new construction projects must meet LEED-certified level criteria. The college has two LEED-certified buildings and five buildings that meet LEED-certified or LEED Silver criteria. Low-flow fixtures have been installed and rainwater is captured from one building and used for irrigation.

Students may live on the Green Hall of one dormitory. Students Engaged in Eco-Defense held a campaign to collect pledges from students to vote for environmentally minded candidates. The group also successfully campaigned for an increase in the number of compost pick-ups at the college. Students saved over 10,000 kilowatt-hours during the Eco-Olympics energy competition. During the competition, volunteers went door to door educating students about energy conservation.

The college subsidizes transit passes by 50 percent for students, faculty, and staff, and offers discounted parking permits for carpools. A shuttle service goes between three campuses, and a free shuttle that runs on a biodiesel blend operates between the campus and downtown Portland. The bicycle rental program is expected to re-open in 2009, and the campus has a bicycle maintenance co-op.

The college has no known policy of disclosure of endowment holdings or its shareholder voting record.

The college aims to optimize investment return and has not made any public statements about investigating or investing in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

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