EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SUPPLY
FOOD
ACADEMICS
PURCHASING
TRANSPORTATION
WASTE MANAGEMENT
ADMINISTRATION
FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS
OTHER INITIATIVES
2007 2008 2009

Sierra, the award-winning magazine of the Sierra Club, is compiling information for our fourth annual “Coolest Schools” issue, which will rate American colleges and universities according to their environmental practices, green initiatives, and caliber of sustainability-oriented education.
Schools that score highly in these realms may be contacted for further discussion and will receive recognition in the magazine’s September/October issue. Please fill out this interactive PDF as thoroughly as possible, save it with your responses as “2010_coolschools_your school’s name” and email it to cool.schools@sierraclub.org no later than March 20, 2010.
Note that this questionnaire will become a public document and that we will not be altering your responses before publishing them online. Please answer as thoroughly as possible. Questions left blank will receive no credit, and if a question requests a percentage, you must provide a percentage. The scoring key will be available online once the issue is published.
As the publication of the nation’s oldest and largest environmental nonprofit, Sierra has a readership of more than 1 million engaged and educated citizens.
Many thanks for your participation.
School name:
Western Washington University
Contact name and title:
John Thompson, assistant director, Office of University Communications
Contact phone:
360.650.3350
Contact email: john.thompson@wwu.edu
School’s city and state:
Bellingham, WA
Number of students:
13,500
HONOR PLEDGE: By completing and submitting this questionnaire, you are certifying that all statements in this document are true to the best of your knowledge.
INITIAL:_ JNT DATE:_ 3/19/10

1. Please break down the energy types that your campus uses for electricity by percentage. If the school purchases its electricity from a utility company, this information should be available from that company.
____% Natural Gas ____% Solar ____% Geothermal
____% Nuclear ____% Hydro ____% Other _____________________
WWU was the first campus in the nation to go to 100% renewable energy. This was a result of our
13,000+ students voting years ago to impose a green-energy fee on themselves to pay for the difference in buying 100% green tags. Our energy is 100% wind, and comes from the Endeavor Wind Farm in Iowa: http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/02/02/wind-power-on-hold/.
In addition, Western generates its own solar power as well, through an agreement with the Bonneville
Power Administration and Puget Sound Energy via a project spearheaded by a campus club, Students
For Renewable Energy: http://news.wwu.edu/go/doc/1538/201991/.
2. What type(s) of energy does your campus use for heating buildings (e.g., natural gas, biomass, coal)?
____% Coal ____% Biomass
____% Elecricity ____ % Fuel Oil
If cogeneration, please explain.

1. What percentage of campus buildings completed within the past three years have a LEED certification of at least silver?
Note whether the certification is higher than silver.
The last two campus buildings constructed were only LEED certified, not silver. Two buildings are currently being built; one is being built to LEED Silver specifications, the other is right now just two points shy of LEED Platinum certification, and will end up either Platinum or Gold certified.
2. What percentage of water used for campus landscaping is from recovered, reclaimed, or untreated soures?
3. What percentage of campus lighting fixtures are energy-efficient (e.g., compact fluorescent, LED, or equipped with motion sensors, automatic daylight shutoff, or other energy-saving features)?
4. What percentage of campus appliances are Energy Star-rated?
All new purchases are Energy-Star compliant; how many old appliances are left is unknown.
5. Does the institution have underway a program of energy-efficiency retrofitting projects, such as improving building insulation or sealing heating and cooling ducts?
WWU is currently in the early stages of conducting investment-grade audits of campus facilities to identitfy potential energy efficiency measures.

1. What percentage (in dollars) of food served at cafeterias is grown or raised within 100 miles of the campus?
(Depending on season)
2. What percentage (in dollars) of food served at campus cafeterias is USDA-certified organic?
3. Do campus cafeterias source seafood that is deemed sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program, or a similar program?
Yes; the vast majority of WWU's seafood is certified by either the MSC for wild species or the
Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC) for farmed species. Western is working toward a goal of
100% certification of its seafood products.
4. What percentage of entrées served in campus dining locations include meat? If the meat is produced sustainably (for example, free-range or grass-fed), explain.
Currently, the meat is not produced sustainably, with the exception of a handful of "sustainability dinners" which take place throughout the year. On the other hand, the eggs Western purchases are raised locally and are produced by hens that are cage-free.
5. Are nutritionally complete vegetarian and/or vegan options available at every meal?
Yes, WWU Dining Services does an excellent job at making nutritionally complete vegetarian AND vegan options available at its meals. Dining Services is always happy to meet the demand of the students, which on Western's campus, includes a large percentage of students and faculty who have chosen vegetarian/vegan diets. Should the demand for vegetarian food increase further, Dining
Services would certainly be willing to provide an even larger variety of meatless options.
6. Is bottled water sold or distributed on campus?
Yes, as are reusable mugs that enable students to receive a discount on drinks, providing students with a greater incentive to accumulate less waste.
7. Does your school maintain a campus farm or garden? Does it use organic methods? Please describe the garden and methods used.
Western does maintain a large public organic garden called the Outback, where many students grow their own fruits and vegetables for personal consumption. The Outback was established in the mid-1970s and has remained a popular fixture ever since.

1. Does your school offer any environmental- and/or sustainability-related majors, such as environmental studies, ecology, or sustainable agriculture? If so, please list them all.
WWU's Huxley College of the Environment is the nation's oldest Environmental Science college; it offers degrees in Environmental Science, Planning and Environmental Policy, and Environmental Studies.
Combined degrees are available as well, allowing students to broaden their discipline within
Environmental Studies: Environmental Studies/Economics, Environmental Studies/Journalism, and
Environmental Studies/Elementary Education. Huxley also offers a minor in Sustainable Design. WWU offers master's degrees in Environmental Education, Political Science-Environmental Studies, Natural
Science Education and Environmental Science.
2. Does your school offer classes about clean technologies, including topics such as energy efficiency and solar-wind energy engineering? If so, please list them all.
Too many classes to list includes these items as topics (see majors and programs above)
3. Does your school provide students with a list of environmental and/or sustainability classes to make such courses easy to identify? Please provide a link, if available.
Because we have the nation's oldest school of the environment, Huxley College, it is quite easy to find the vast majority of these types of classes there: https://admin.wwu.edu/pls/wwis/wwsktime.SelClass
4. Please provide names of standout professors who work on environmental and/or sustainability issues and list their accomplishments, including awards, honors, and publications.
Andy Bunn (Env. Sci): The Polaris Project, measuring global warming's effects on the Siberian Arctic, in conjunction with Woods Hole and the NSF; Jim Helfield (Env. Sci.): Studying how the demolition of the Elwha River dams on the Olympic Peninsula will effect the river's ecosystems; David Shull (Env.
Sci): Studying how the melting of the Bering Sea's ice caps due to rising global temperatures is effecting North America's most vital commercial fishery; Nick Zaferatos (Env. Studies) is studying sustainability practices and their role in revitalization in Kefalonia, Greece ...
Note: Much more WWU research info at http://www.onlinefast.org/gaia/
5. Do you have environment- and/or sustainability-related centers, programs, or research institutions associated with your school? If so, please provide their names and a description.
Shannon Point Marine Center: one of the Northwest's top research laboratories for marine science;
WWU's Vehicle Research Institute is a national leader in building the next generation of ultra-fuel-efficient cars and is one of only two universities entered in the Progressive Automobile
X-Prize, a contest to build a 100-mpg production car; far more to add than I have space for here!
6. Is an environment-themed class a core curriculum requirement? If yes, please provide the name(s) of the course(s).
No. However the topic of sustainability and climate change is developed throughout our GUR sequence.
7. What percentage of academic departments offer environment- or sustainability-related classes?

1. Does your school have a sustainable-purchasing policy? If yes, briefly explain.
Yes; see examples below
2. What percentage of paper used on campus is made from at least 30% postconsumer recycled content?
Does your school purchase paper that is Forest Stewardship Council-certified?
Yes
3. Does your school have a policy to purchase Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool
(EPEAT)-certified (or similar) electronics? If yes, please describe.
All campus computers are acquired through Purchasing, which uses an internal guideline of using only
EPEAT products unless individual departments request otherwise. All desktop Dell and HP computers that WWU buys, for example, are EPEAT certified.
4. Do you have packaging agreements with suppliers that minimize waste? If yes, please describe.
Purchasing specifies minimal packaging with all suppliers, including large orders.
5. Does your school specify in its purchasing contracts that products with energy-saving features be installed or delivered with these features enabled?
Yes, all computers are purchased with the specification of energy-saving features enabled.

1. Does your school provide a free shuttle service around campus and town? If yes, briefly explain.
Students have access to a “late night shuttle” serving campus, downtown and two neighborhoods with large student residential density. The “late night shuttle” is only for WWU students; there is no charge to ride, but passengers must show a student ID or student bus pass. Most students are eligible for a “free” regional student bus pass (paid for by a mandatory student transportation fee, currently $25).
Approximately 89% of students who are eligible pick up their bus pass. Student bus passes allow unlimited rides on all buses in Whatcom County, as well as the “county connector” for access to regional travel.
2. What has your school done to promote bicycling as a transportation method?
Bicycling is officially recognized as a sustainable form of transportation and is second only to walking in priority on campus. There are 944 bike outdoor parking spaces on campus (not including residence halls), a number of which are covered. Last year 182 covered spaces were added, in 2008 80 covered spaces were added. In addition, 6 bicycle lockers are available to students, faculty and staff, at no charge.
3. Does your school encourage its students and employees to use public transit, carpool, or use some other form of alternative transportation? If yes, what are the incentives?
Most students are eligible for and receive a bus pass. Faculty and staff can purchase a subsidized bus pass; the subsidy covers about 67% of the cost. There is no free parking on campus; the cost of a carpool parking permit is about 75% the cost of a single-occupant vehicle parking permit. Free parking is available at a park & ride about one mile from campus; service to campus is frequent and free with a bus pass. WWU supports employee commute trip reduction (CTR), with a program in compliance with
Washington State CTR guidelines. The program goal is to increase the number of employees using options other than driving alone to get to work. Since the CTR program began in 1997, faculty/staff single-occupant-vehicle use decreased 13% and vehicle miles traveled decreased 14%.
4. Approximately what percentage of students drive to school in a car?
And see above, re: bus pass
5. Approximately what percentage of faculty and staff drive to work in a car?

1. What is your campus’s current waste-diversion rate (i.e., percentage of campus waste being diverted from landfills)?
2. Does your campus provide recycling receptacles wherever there are trash cans?
No, we do not provide recycling next to *all* trash cans. We are in the process of removing all stand alone public trash cans and replacing them with "sorting stations" with receptacles for organics in addition to the receptacles for containers and paper we already provide.
3. Are recycling bins readily available at large events such as football games?
Yes
4. Does your school compost? If yes, are compost receptacles available at all or most on-campus dining locations?
Yes, there are composting options available at most dining locations.
5. Is your school committed to waste-reduction goals, such as zero waste? Please explain.
The WWU Office of Sustainability (OS) is committed to implementing a Zero-Waste strategy for
WWU's campus. The OS facilitates a Zero-Waste committee which has recently worked with Facility
Management to begin installing compost receptacles throughout campus.
6. Does your campus administer a donation program for clothing and other used goods when students are moving out of student housing? If so, are bins located in every dormitory?
Not an official program, no.

1. Is environmental sustainability part of your institution’s mission statement, guiding principles, or similar document? If so, please provide the text or link.
Yes, from WWU's mission, "The Western Experience:"
"Western provides a high quality environment that complements the learning community on a sustainable and attractive campus intentionally designed to support student learning and environmental stewardship."
More at http://www.wwu.edu/president/mission.shtml
2. Does your school employ at least one person dedicated to overseeing campus environmental initiatives, such as a sustainability coordinator, or have a sustainability task force or committee? Is the coordinator position a part-time or full-time position?
Yes, WWU has a sustainability coordinator, Seth Vidana: seth.vidana@wwu.edu
3. Has your school made an official commitment to reducing its impact on climate change by setting goals of emission reductions by a certain date? If yes, does your school have a plan for achieving these reductions? If so, briefly explain the plan.
WWU has signed the President's Climate Commitment and created a Climate Action Plan with targets and emissions goals.
4. Has your school conducted a complete greenhouse-gas-emissions audit of its campus?
WWU has completed a Greenhouse Gas Inventory of emissions from 2006-2007
5. Has your school achieved a reduction in total annual carbon emissions? If yes, please explain and provide the benchmark year and percentage.
No.

1. Is all information about your endowment fund publicly available? Briefly explain.
No.
2. Does your institution have an investment-responsibility committee that considers and acts on environmental issues?
Specific Socially Responsible and Sustainable Investing Evaluation Criteria
The following considerations, where practical, will be applied in best practice evaluation:
2. Implementation of supportive screening for the environment, workplace, community and governance.
3. Does your school make environmentally responsible investments? If so, briefly explain what they are and whether they’re made on an ongoing basis.
When possible, yes.

1. Have any of your school’s students effected positive environmental change on a campus, state, or national level? If so, please describe. (To nominate a specific student for greater attention in our coverage, please email cool.schools@sierraclub.org with his or her name, accomplishments, and contact information.)
WWU's student body as a whole was the first in the nation in 2004 to impose a student fee on themselves that would pay for the purchasing of 100% green energy for WWU. The city of Bellingham, where WWU is located, soon followed suit and purchased its own energy from 100% green sources as well.
2. Have students participated in environmental challenges or events such as the Solar Decathlon, environmental design contests, or environmental debates? If so, which events and how did they do?
The Vehicle Research Institute has competed in the Tour de Sol (world's most cutting edge solar-powered vehicles) and this year is one of only two U.S. universities competing in the Progressive
Automotive X-Prize. In addition, WWU has competed in the EcoChallenge and design challenges such as Re-Made, where students build production ready items from materials found in landfills. See more sustainable-design award-winners at http://www.wwu.edu/id/awards.html
3. Has your school set aside part of its campus as natural habitat, stipulated limited campus development, or enacted programs preserving its land? If so, please explain.
Sehome Arboretum: The Sehome Hill Arboretum is a 180-acre natural forest habitat cooperatively managed by The City of Bellingham and Western Washington University. The Arboretum is bounded by
Western Washington University and residential neighborhoods of Bellingham. The Arboretum is home to a diverse collection of native plants and animals. The Arboretum has several miles of trails over varied terrain and an observation tower with views of Bellingham and the surrounding area.
Canyon Creek Community Forest: The cooperative efforts of the Whatcom Land Trust, Western
Washington University and Whatcom County Parks & Recreation preserved this 2,300 acre old-growth forest for future generations.
4. Does your school adhere to an indoor air-quality policy (e.g., the mandated use of nontoxic cleaning supplies)? If yes, describe the policy.
http://news.wwu.edu/go/doc/1538/404143/
5. Does your school offer outdoor- or nature-based programs, classes, or extracurricular activities to students and/or faculty? If yes, please list and describe.
See above, re: majors and programs. In addition, WWU maintains Lakewood, a beachfront recreation facility on Lake Whatcom; the WWU Outdoor Center; student clubs such as the Students for
Renewable Energy, etc.

6. What specific actions has your school taken to improve its environmental sustainability since spring 2009?
Please list all improvements.
Construction - LEED Silver (1) Gold (1); doubling of sustainablility reps in dorms; new grant for sustainability solutions research team; increase in sorting stations across campus; large increase in amount of local food used on campus as a result of the Real Food Challenge; the Associated Students have approved the new green fee which includes funding for on-campus student sustainability projects
7. Please use this space to address any other unique or interesting sustainability initiatives that have not been previously mentioned:
Insititute for Watershed Studies: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~iws/
Institute of Environmental Toxicology: http://www.wwu.edu/toxicology/
The Resilience Institute: http://www.wwu.edu/resilience/
Rainforest Immersion and Conservation Action (RICA) Project in Costa Rica: http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/eesp/summer/rica/index.shtml
Please save this PDF with your answers and email it to cool.schools@sierraclub.org no later than March 20, 2010. Thank you very much for your participation.