Saint Mary's College of California

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

The college's strategic plan calls for the development of a multi-year sustainability action plan by December 2009. A subcommittee of the Campus Facilities Planning Committee, which will focus solely on campus sustainability, will also be created by June 2010. Saint Mary's purchases exclusively paper made from 30 percent postconsumer recycled content, and the college is in the process of replacing all of its conventional cleaning products with Green Seal-certified products.

Saint Mary's has completed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and signed the California Energy Pledge, requiring the college to reduce its emissions 20 percent by 2020. Fourteen percent of the electricity purchased from the college's power supplier is from renewable sources. The college has performed HVAC system replacements, boiler replacements, ventilation improvements, and window film replacements.

Saint Mary's spends 40 percent of its annual food budget on local items. Dining services also sources over 200 pounds of food each week from an on-campus garden. The college purchases exclusively hormone- and antibiotic-free milk and fair trade-certified coffee. All dining facilities compost preconsumer food waste, and a program to compost postconsumer waste is slated to begin in spring 2010. All dining facilities have been trayless since spring 2008.

Saint Mary's has installed energy monitors to measure buildings' energy consumption in real time. The college has also retrofitted plumbing fixtures and installed vending misers and occupancy sensors to reduce energy consumption. The college's Dante Hall meets LEED-EB certification criteria.

The student organization Project Green promotes sustainability on campus. In the Flick the Switch competition, organized by the college's student government, the winning residence hall reduced its energy consumption by 28 percent and its residents received free tickets to a campus concert. The student government has also worked on campus recycling and the development of an on-campus garden.

Saint Mary's facilitates carpooling arrangements between community members and offers participants the chance to win prizes. Students can ride the local bus for free and a car-sharing program was launched in August 2009. The campus fleet includes electric vehicles.

The college makes a list of all holdings available at the investment office to trustees, senior administrators, and other select members of the school community.

The college aims to optimize investment return and is exploring, but not currently invested in, renewable energy funds or similar investment vehicles.

The college does not have the ability to vote proxies, as the entire endowment is invested in mutual funds.