Marquette University

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

Marquette University established the Sustainability Task Force, under which four working groups focus on recycling, natural resources and utilities, suppliers, and new buildings. The sustainability office, created in 2008, employs one full-time administrator and one full-time assistant.

Marquette has invested $7 million in efficiency improvements over the past few years, including HVAC recommissioning, lighting retrofits, and IT conservation strategies. All buildings on campus are heated with steam, the byproduct of fuel sources.

Marquette purchases dairy and produce from three local farms. In an effort to reduce the prevalence of plastic water bottles, dining services installed a water station, and has made biodegradable cups, plates, and silverware available for take-out items. In the past year, Marquette has recycled 9,774 pounds of computers. The campus will begin a single-stream recycling program this fall.

The university pursues energy-efficient designs for new construction and renovations. All consulting architects for new building projects are LEED-accredited. Three buildings currently under construction are awaiting LEED certification.

New-student orientation includes information sessions on living sustainably and becoming involved with sustainability on campus. Students for an Environmentally Active Campus is the largest student group focused on sustainability and addresses recycling in dorms and green building certification. The Slow Food club works with Marquette's organic farm to make fresh produce available for purchase on campus.

All undergraduates are automatically enlisted into the U-Pass program, which entitles them to unlimited access to the Milwaukee County Transit System. Employees are offered access to a similar discount program. The university encourages carpooling by allowing employees and students to share a permit between multiple vehicles.

The university makes neither its shareholder voting record nor its list of endowment holdings public. This information is only available to trustees, senior administrators, and other select members of the school community.

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

The university provides its investment managers with specific corporate governance guidelines set by the Wisconsin Province and the National Jesuit Committee on Investor Responsibility that determine its proxy votes.