In April, the College took a big step toward a smaller footprint. A smaller carbon footprint, that is. President H. Kim Bottomly announced the establishment of a revolving green fund to help support energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable building projects on campus. Initial seed monies in the fund will finance capital projects and then will be replenished by future energy savings.

The College will begin this summer with simple projects, such as changing fluorescent lighting to LED lighting, which will provide substantial savings over time, and will also begin calculating the savings to be reaped from projects such as replacing insulation and windows. A master list of larger projects to be funded by the Green Revolving Fund is also being developed.

This year, the student group Fossil Free Wellesley had called for the divestment of College holdings in fossil-fuel companies. The Board of Trustees rejected divestment as “not a good option” for the College. “The cost to Wellesley,” President Bottomly said, “would be high and the economic impact on fossil fuels companies inconsequential.” Instead, she laid out four steps the College would take to increase sustainability and address climate change, one of which was the establishment of the Green Revolving Fund.