What makes a college campus green?

Leslie Madsen Brooks — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:55:39 -0500

For the past few years, colleges have been jostling for position in "top 10" lists of the greenest college campuses. Any such listing is going to draw fire from alumni upset that their college isn't on the list--see, for example, Grist's (apparently unranked) list of 15 green colleges and the comments that follow it. But if we're ranking colleges as environmentally sustainable, how do we measure that sustainability? Tons of carbon reduction? Tons of trash reduction? Educational opportunities for students that emphasize sustainability theory and practice? Herein I point to some organizations' tentative answers, as well as provide a brief round-up of what some colleges are doing to green their campuses.

The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) noted last week that Princeton Review will, alongside its evaluations of student quality of life and other key factors, provide a rating of each institution's commitment to environmental sustainability.

According to the Chronicle article,

Colleges featured in the Princeton Review will get a score of 60 to 99 based on how they responded to almost 30 questions, like "What percentage of your grounds are managed organically?" or "Please list your school's top three undertakings that represent your environmental commitment."

The Sustainable Endowments Institute offers its College Sustainability Report Card annually. Says the Institute's web site:

The Report Card is the only independent sustainability evaluation of campus operations and endowment investments. Published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, it assesses the 200 public and private universities with the largest endowments, ranging from $230 million to nearly $35 billion.

The results [of the 2008 Report Card] clearly show a “green groundswell” on campuses, with nearly 45 percent of colleges committing to fight climate change through cutting carbon emissions. High-performance green building standards guide new construction at 59 percent of schools, while 42 percent are using hybrid or electric vehicles in transportation fleets. Notably, 37 percent of schools purchase renewable energy and 30 percent produce their own wind or solar energy. A substantial 70 percent buy food from local farms and 64 percent serve fair trade coffee.

U.S. colleges and universities earning the highest grade offered thus far, an A-, include Harvard, Dartmouth, the University of Washington, Middlebury, Carleton, and the University of Vermont. Those earning an F include The Juilliard School and Howard, Regent, and Samford universities. Of the 200 schools evaluated this year, 42 percent earned a C. The report is worth downloading, as it's very detailed, considering its scope, about various college initiatives.

The Sierra Club also offers a top 10 list of "schools that get it." Topping the 2007 list: Oberlin College, Harvard University, Warren Wilson College, and the entire University of California system. (Of course I must provide a shout-out to my fellow UC bicycle commuters. Did you know ridership at UCLA has increased by 50 percent, and that UC Davis is located in one of only two cities in the USA to get a platinum rating from the League of American Bicyclists?)

Among the more novel approaches to sustainability:

Students at the Berea College Farms learn to manage a combined 480 acres of row crops, hay, silage, and pasture land. Among the crops grown are soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, native grasses, and turnips. They also manage 85 cows and their calves, 60 ewes and their lambs, 25 nannies and their kids, and 30 sows and their pigs from birth to slaughter.

Grinnell College is building wind turbines and has a Center for Prairie Studies.

Students at the University of Maine manage certified organic vegetable production. According to their web site, "Students provide fresh organically grown vegetables and a newsletter twice a week to 60 share holders."

Humboldt State University recently welcomed to campus a new GreenLab in its Applied Technology Department.

Other sources of information:

Worldwatch Institute offers a series of campus greening initiatives.
Kiwi Magazine (sign-up required) provides a "Green College Report" on "fifty schools that will help your kids help the planet."
You can also see a list of institutions that signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.
The Rodale Institute offers a directory of sustainable ag programs and student farm projects at campuses across the U.S.
The EPA Green Power Partnership lists the 10 colleges and universities that purchase and/or generate the most green power.
Campus sustainability profiles from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
E/The Environmental Magazine's cover story on how students are driving the campus climate movement
Inside Higher Ed asks if colleges need "green czars"
The Responsible Endowments Coalition "works to foster social and environmental change and to promote corporate reform through university endowments by educating and empowering a diverse community of university members and allies."

Blogs about (among other things) campus sustainability:

The California State University Commitment to Sustainability

Katie Sobalsky's Green in the Mountains blog--see especially her post on the Presidents Climate Commitment

The University of Texas, Arlington has a President's Sustainability Committee blog.

AASHE has a blog and a list of campus sustainability blogs.

Carleton College discusses environmental initiatives on its Shrinking Footprints Blog.

Michigan State University's Office of Campus Sustainability blogs at Mindful Relations.

What do you think of the various rankings? And if you or your child went to college, do you think your or their alma mater should be listed?

Finally--and most importantly--how should we evaluate (and monitor changes in) colleges' shades of green?

Leslie Madsen-Brooks helps university faculty improve their teaching. She blogs at The Clutter Museum, Museum Blogging, and The Multicultural Toy Box.

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What makes a college campus green?