University of Kansas–Lawrence

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

The Sustainability Ambassador Network works to educate the campus on sustainability issues such as green purchasing and paper use. The university employs several sustainability staff, including a director of the Center for Sustainability. The campus energy policy contains guidelines for temperature standards, purchasing, and green building.

The university has completed a greenhouse gas inventory and has an energy performance contract for efficiency upgrades. A portion of the Campus Environmental Improvement Fee purchases wind energy credits for the Anschutz Library. Fifteen elliptical machines in the fitness center supply some electricity to the building, and two scholarship halls operate on a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Dining services purchases produce and protein menu items from six local farms and recently planted a rooftop herb garden on the premises. Some grass-fed beef is served in the fine dining restaurant and at catered events, and 50 percent of seafood purchased is in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines. The dining services retail and residential cafes serve only fair trade coffee. A 37 percent reduction in postconsumer food waste and a reduction in monthly water usage were observed after all residential dining centers went trayless in September 2008.

The university requires new buildings to improve at least 30 percent on the ASHRAE Energy Efficient Design standard. Through its energy performance contract, the university has completed lighting retrofits. Low-flow fixtures and other water-saving technology have been installed in various campus buildings.

The Center for Sustainability offers sustainability internships, and students can choose to live in an environmentally conscious cooperative house. The KU Environs group has worked on energy conservation measures and held an educational series of events for the campus community. The Student Environmental Advisory Board oversees the student sustainability fee and initiated the purchase of wind credits.

Public transportation is fully subsidized for students, faculty, and staff, and the university offers bicycle repair services. All of the university's buses use a biodiesel blend. Traffic control booths restrict traffic in the central campus area.

The university makes a list of external managers, mutual funds, and cash holdings available to trustees and senior administrators. The university does not make its shareholder voting record public.

The university aims to optimize investment return and is currently invested in renewable energy funds. A number of the university's investment managers have policies relating to sustainability. Operating within the guidelines for each manager, some allocations are invested in areas such as renewable energy.

The university asks that its investment managers handle the details of proxy voting.