Loyola University of New Orleans

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

Loyola University of New Orleans has an environmental responsibility statement and President Wildes signed the President's Climate Commitment in 2009. The Campus Sustainability Study Group, composed of students, administrators, faculty, and staff, was formed in 2008 and works on various projects including improving recycling on campus.

The university is in the process of completing a greenhouse gas inventory. The campus has been retrofitted with high-efficiency lighting, occupancy sensors, and an automated temperature control system.

Dining services buys from 12 local farms and serves only fair trade coffee. Used cooking oil from kitchens is converted into B100 biodiesel and collected by a nonprofit organization. Dining services also provides biodegradable containers for all to-go catering and retail operations. The university's year-end recycling drive collected 5,000 pounds of clothes and food to be donated to local organizations.

The university has recently renovated two buildings on campus with sustainable features, including Energy Star equipment and recycled materials. The university is preparing a green building policy that will be available in the 2009-2010 academic year.

The student-led Environmental Action Program works on several campus sustainability projects, including developing a green revolving loan fund and sponsoring a dorm competition to reduce energy consumption. The student government has a specific committee dedicated to sustainability and created the Sustainability Garden which will grow herbs to be used by dining services.

The university's fleet includes three hybrid vehicles. A fee-based bicycle rental program is available to students.

The university makes neither a list of endowment holdings nor its shareholder voting record public. These issues are currently being reviewed by a consultant group and recommendations for improved endowment transparency will be made in fall 2009.

The university aims to optimize investment return and does not invest in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds. Loyola is revising its investment policy statement and is considering including social and environmental factors.

Most of the endowment is in mutual funds or other commingled investment vehicles. For separately managed accounts, the university asks its investment managers to handle the details of proxy voting.