The Green Report Card and Beyond

Tom Joseph

From 2007 to 2011, the Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI) published a sustainability

report card for American and Canadian colleges. In 2010, 322 colleges participated in this program by submitting thorough surveys, which contain information on each school’s sustainability in regards to campus operations, dining services, endowment investment practices, and student activities. This information is provided by administrators, faculty, and staff at each university to provide a broad and relatively unbiased data set to create the Green Report Card. This survey included terms, regulations, and recommendations from nationally recognized sustainability organizations and federal agencies to obtain specific and somewhat easily verified information. Furthermore, after each survey was administered, the SEI created a secondary survey to obtain feedback on primary questionnaire. As a result, SEI’s Green Report Card has improved with each year, leading to a comprehensive and unbiased assessment of American and Canadian colleges’ sustainability.

Three examples of SEI’s work can be seen in their assessment of the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Brandeis University near Boston. In SEI’s most recent report card from 2011, the University of Minnesota was noted for its energy conservation and use of some renewable sources, as well as its sustainable dining systems, buildings, and use of public transportation. The U of M was given A’s in all categories, matching its overall grade. Brandeis, meanwhile scored lower, mainly due to its older buildings and lack of transparency in regard to its endowment. These detractors were outweighed, however, by the university’s commitment to renewable resources, reducing greenhouse emissions, and student involvement in sustainable practices. This assessment gave Brandeis University an overall grade of a B, as a result. The University of Illinois, meanwhile, was praised for its sustainable practices and programs campus-wide. However,the university was also harshly criticized for its endowment and shareholder policies, due to its use of proxy voting, which reduced the voters’ voice. This resulted in an overall grade of a B, mostly due to the F it received in the shareholder engagement category.

The Sustainable Endowments Institute moved on to a new project after 2011, in the Billion Dollar Green Challenge.

This program encourages colleges, universities, and other nonprofit institutions to invest a combined total of one billion dollars towards energy efficiency improvements. The funds for these investments come from the partner organizations’ participation in green revolving loans. Within this model, organizations’ savings from the use of energy saving measures will be use to finance loans to other partner organizations. These organizations will use the loaned funds to fund energy efficient equipment and programs, which will save them money, and will in turn be used to pay back the loans and give out further loans to others.

In a similar vein, programs are available to give grants to high schools and elementary schools to fund sustainable equipment or practices. One such organization that gives out these grants is the Green Schools Initiative.

This organization promotes the use of sustainable and energy saving products to maintain ecological sustainability and responsibility. In applying for their awards and grant, the Green Schools initiative allows small schools to engage in sustainable practices, despite their usual high costs. This program is not a loan, like the program used for universities and large organizations. This takes the pressure off of these small institutions and allows them to decrease their ecological footprint, while maintaining their economic stability. There are many other organizations waiting to give out money for this cause, it’s just a matter of applying.

The success of these programs is undeniable, as schools and organizations have consistently decreased their carbon footprint and energy costs. With this in mind, it is apparent that these programs are not just beneficial, but invaluable. If the world is to continue on the path of industry, concessions will have to be made to preserve the environment, at least for our own safety and well-being. Programs like these are a simple start towards a sufficient future, as trivial as they may seem.