by Ann Withanee — November 8, 2010—Facing frugal times, more schools are finding that energy efficiency improvements can cut costs without cutting campus services. Connecting the dots between sustainability and savings is an accelerating trend revealed in the new College Sustainability Report Card 2011.
Released October 27 at GreenReportCard.org, the publication is said to be the only independent evaluation of sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices. Assessing each institution in nine categories, ranging from Climate Change & Energy to Green Building to Investment Priorities, the Report Card provides detailed school profiles and grades for 322 colleges and universities, representing all 50 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces.
The seven schools earning the highest grade in the College Sustainability Report Card 2011 are: Brown University, Dickinson College, Oberlin College, Pomona College, University of MinnesotaTwin Cities, University of WisconsinMadison, Yale University.
Since the first edition four years ago, Report Card surveys show dramatic increases on 52 green indicators. For example, the percentages of schools that now have the following programs are:
- 64% – Commitment to carbon emissions reduction (23% in 2006)
- 70% – Campus farm or garden (9% in 2006)
- 75% – Trayless dining (0% in 2006)
- 79% – Green building policy (22% in 2006)
- 95% – Sustainability committee (40% in 2006)
- 70% – Campus farm or garden (9% in 2006)
This year, the report includes introducing Get Answers, a new tool allowing people to easily find out whether a school has undertaken a specific program or initiative.
For more information visit the Green Report Card Web site.
