Earlham College

College Sustainability Report Card 2011

Earlham College is committed to sustainability through a formal policy. An environmental committee that includes three students has worked on a number of initiatives, such as joining sustainability tracking programs, performing a greenhouse gas emissions audit, and creating sustainability brochures to raise awareness on campus. The college frequently purchases Energy Star-certified products.

To reduce energy use, Earlham has implemented a variety of measures, including temperature setbacks and energy management systems, and has installed energy-efficient technologies such as T5 and T8 lighting, steam line insulation, economizers, variable speed drives, and chilled-water metering. A greenhouse gas emissions inventory has been completed.

Dining services at Earlham spends 15 percent of its annual food budget on local products. Half of all eggs served on campus are cage free, and all milk is hormone and antibiotic free. To reduce waste, postconsumer food scraps are composted at most meals, and most meals are trayless. In addition, 56 percent of campus waste is diverted from traditional disposal through recycling.

Earlham strives to meet LEED criteria in its construction projects, and three buildings on campus meet LEED-EB criteria. In order to reduce water use, the school has installed low-flow faucets and showerheads.

Four different houses offer eco-friendly living options for students, and the school employs three paid sustainability interns throughout the academic year and during the summer. Student groups on campus have worked on a number of initiatives, including running a bike co-op, monitoring the implementation of the school's environmental plan, and campaigning for national legislation.

In the past two years, all new vehicles purchased for the college fleet have been hybrids. A free bike-sharing program and bike repairs are available for the school community. Earlham offers a free shuttle service to local destinations, and free transportation is provided to students who volunteer off campus.

A list of mutual funds, external managers, and asset allocations, as well as cash, equity, fixed income, real estate, hedge fund, private equity, venture capital, and natural resource holdings, is available on a password-protected website to all members of the school community. A list of votes cast on proxy resolutions, only by category, is available online to all members of the school community.

The college aims to optimize investment returns, and the endowment is currently invested in renewable energy funds and is exploring investment in community development loan funds. The college also uses investment managers who consider environmental and sustainability factors.

Students, faculty, and alumni serve on an advisory committee that makes proxy voting recommendations on environmental and social resolutions to the board. The college asks that its investment managers handle the details of proxy voting for corporate governance resolutions.