University of North Carolina at Greensboro

College Sustainability Report Card 2010

The university has purchasing policies that encourage the purchase of products with recycled content, as well as Energy Star-certified office equipment and appliances. A sustainability committee consisting of faculty, staff, students, and administrators is divided into eight working groups that address issues, including transportation, energy, and water use. UNCG employs an environmental and sustainability manager who works part time on sustainability initiatives.

Initiatives to increase energy efficiency include upgrading HVAC systems with direct digital controls and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. The Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling implements numerous education campaigns aimed at encouraging conservation behaviors.

Menus feature organic salad bar items, fair trade coffee, and local produce, as well as 100 percent cage-free eggs and sustainably caught seafood. One cafeteria is trayless. Dining services uses bulk condiment dispensers and recycled-content napkins. The university recycles fryer oil to create biodiesel fuel to further reduce waste.

The Facilities Design and Construction Department has incorporated green building design strategies into new construction, as well as renovation projects. Technologies include occupancy sensors, construction waste management plans, compact fluorescent and LED lighting, and low-flow water equipment.

A chapter of the Campus Climate Challenge and the student group UNC Green are active on campus. The Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling offers paid internship opportunities for students to work on sustainability projects.

The university adopted a transportation master plan aimed at developing an integrated and multimodal network of transit options. Students ride for free on the local buses and the university uses some B20 biodiesel in motor fleet vehicles.

The university makes a list of endowment holdings available to the public by request, as per open record law; this information is available at the investment office.

The university aims to optimize investment return and does not invest in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

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