by Brianna Crandall — April 27, 2011—UNCF (United Negro College Fund), reportedly the nation’s largest minority education organization, has announced that America’s minority-serving institutions (MSIs)—colleges and university whose student bodies include large percentages of black, Hispanic and Native American students—have joined the drive for environmental sustainability.
The findings are part of the Minority-Serving Institutions Green Report, a 2010 Campus Sustainability Survey developed by the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building and the Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI). The report and UNCF’s Building Green Initiative are funded by the Kresge Foundation and supported by Second Nature.
The UNCF report identified several highlights in its survey of campus sustainability practices:
- Sixty percent of participating colleges and universities have green buildings up and running on campus, or under construction;
- Ninety-six percent recycle, with 71 percent recycling paper, 63 percent recycling aluminum, and 58 percent recycling cardboard;
- Sixty-four percent of institutions with dining halls purchase local food, helping to reduce the carbon emissions associated with transporting food; and
- Fifty-two percent offer free transportation around campus, off campus or both.
- Ninety-six percent recycle, with 71 percent recycling paper, 63 percent recycling aluminum, and 58 percent recycling cardboard;
The Minority-Serving Institutions Green Report is based on survey responses from 52 colleges that had participated in UNCF’s Building Green Learning Institutes. Online surveys covered sustainability initiatives, policies and programs existing or planned in seven categories: Administration, Climate Change and Energy, Green Buildings, Recycling, Dining, Student Involvement and Transportation.
In each category, the report offers evidence of significant progress and the potential for even more. In most cases where sustainability efforts have lagged, it has been because of lack of resources, notes UNCF. Almost all participating schools said that funding would make the biggest difference in fulfilling their environmental interests.
