The University received an overall B- grade on the Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card for 2010, slipping slightly from last year's B.
SEI is the only independent evaluator of sustainability policies at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, SEI spokesperson Lea Lupkin said.
The organization published profiles for 332 schools, which each responded to at least one survey evaluating cooperative green strategies in nine "indicator" categories: administration, climate change & energy, food & recycling, green building, transportation, student involvement, endowment transparency, shareholder engagement and investment priorities. Overall compared to last year, the University received higher grades in two categories and lower grades in three categories, while maintaining the same grade in the remaining four.
The University's grade in the administration category improved from a B to an A since last year because of the administration's increased commitment to sustainability at the University, Lupkin said.\n"For a school to truly be green you need to have the cooperation of the administration," she said.
According to the report card, The University also improved in the climate change & energy category, from a C to a B, partially because the University's Clinical Office Building located on Grounds is one of the largest buildings in Virginia that uses a geothermal cooling system.
The University maintained A grades in the student involvement, transportation and food & recycling categories.
The University helped keep its A in food & dining through new dining sustainability initiatives, University Dining Marketing Manager Nicole Jackson said. Going tray-less and increasing composting efforts, both of which were launched last year, curbed a significant amount of food waste, she said.
In endowment transparency, though, the University received an F - the same grade as last year - based on the information SEI found publicly about investments in sustainability projects, Lupkin said. Additionally, shareholder engagement dropped from a C to an F. Lupkin noted that the University dropped a committee that specifically sought out how to invest endowment funds towards sustainability projects.
Despite the failing grades, University spokesperson Carol Wood said she does not believe the survey fully recognized all of the University's other efforts toward sustainability.
"The University doesn't manage to any kind of ranking," Wood said. "If we're looking at the way the University has turned green it's because we focus on our daily operations. We're focusing on where we can make the greatest impact on the environment."
The green building category grade dropped from an A to a B, partly because the University has not constructed any new buildings since the last report card, Lupkin said. In addition, the University fell from an A to a C in investment priorities because of the University's failure to invest in renewable energy funds.
"Last year the endowment was invested in environmental funds ... and this year they're not," Lupkin said. "We need more investment in renewable and clean energy if we're going to meet the energy concerns of the 21st century."
Wood, however, said the University made this move to "make the best investments we can to protect our endowment," especially in light of declining commonwealth budget allowances and poor market conditions.
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