Washington State University

President Floyd signed the Presidents Climate Commitment. A presidential committee for sustainability and the environment, which includes students, faculty, and staff, was created in 2008. An executive policy enacted in 2005 made a formal commitment to improve sustainability in campus operations. The Sustainability Initiative's work group conducts an annual sustainability forum and has drafted formal policies that will be included in the university's Business Policies and Procedure Manual.

The university met a target in March 2008 to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gases by 175 tons. The university reinvigorated its energy improvement program in 2001, resulting in current total energy use below the 2001 levels, despite increases in campus population and square footage. The university has a program encouraging the growth of renewable energy in the State of Washington.

As a policy, dining services prioritizes sourcing from local farms and only imports from outside the state if an item is not locally available. An on-campus orchard and farm provide seasonal produce and the on-campus creamery provides cheese and ice cream. The recycling program has a 57 percent diversion rate and has approximately 1,500 collection areas across campus. Food and landscaping waste is composted at the WSU compost facility and dining services offers compostable to-go containers.

Any state-funded major building or renovation projects must meet LEED Silver standards, at a minimum, per the governor's order. The Compton Union Building will be WSU's first LEED Silver-certified building.

The WSU Sustainability Club is a student organization on campus focused on sustainability issues. Last year, students organized the annual sustainability forum, a two-day long event consisting of activities geared toward sustainability.

The university fleet has ten hybrid vehicles and intends to add more. A student-led project is in the process of collecting waste fryer oil from the dining centers for use as biofuel in the heavy equipment unit. The university provides a free commuter bus, an on-campus shuttle system funded by student fees, and rideshare resources.

The university makes a list of endowment holdings available to the public by request, as per open records laws. 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 does not have the ability to vote proxies, as the entire endowment is invested in mutual funds.