UConn given a 'B' in sustainability report

Facing a battered economy and crippling budget cuts last year, UConn - along with many other U.S. colleges - maintained its commitment to going green.

On Oct. 7, the Sustainable Endowments Institute released the College Sustainability Report Card 2010. The report card is an independent evaluation of colleges' commitments to promoting environmental initiatives.

The Sustainable Endowments Institute looked at 332 schools through surveys that were completed by students and administrators.

"More than 95 percent of participating institutions agreed to share the inner workings of their green practices, resulting in over 10,000 pages of detailed data and descriptions," a press release from the Sustainable Endowments Institute said.

The surveys found that the schools became greener, as a whole, despite a 23 percent average drop in endowments.

UConn, which endured a 5 percent budget cut last year, earned a "B" average on the newly released report card.

Schools were scored in nine different categories. UConn earned three "A's," four "B's," one "D" and no grade for the shareholder agreement category.

Validating the sacrifice of students who bemoaned last year's initiative to go trayless, UConn earned an "A" in the food and recycling category.

The excellent mark was earned for its trayless dining halls, recycling practices, composting programs and its locally grown and organic food purchases.

The environmental policy that university adopted in 2004 helped UConn to an "A" in the administrative category as well.

UConn received its final "A" for its investment priorities, including investments in renewable energy funds and a natural resources manager.

Students have also played a critical role in helping UConn earn high marks on the sustainability report card. Sometimes being environmentally conscious helps more than just the environment.

"Living off-campus, there's extra incentive to go green," said Tim Conboy, a 9th-semester pharmacy major. "Things like keeping lights off, taking shorter showers and turning down the thermostat all help my wallet and the environment."

UConn received "B's" for climate change and energy conservation initiatives, transportation services, the number of green buildings on campus and student involvement.

"I think we're doing well in student involvement, especially because we have a lot of smaller groups on campus," said Catherine Pomposi, a 7th-semester environmental science and statistics double major, and the vice president of EcoHusky. "I think with all the environmental groups together, UConn is able to cover a wide range of sustainability issues."

Pomposi described a number of different environmental groups that are working toward environmental sustainability at UConn, including EcoGarden, which employs sustainable approaches to gardening to grow some of the produce served in Whitney Dining Hall.

Other student initiatives include EcoHusky, the Green Building Society and ConnPIRG's Campus Climate Challenge.

"With all those initiatives together, we pretty much hit on the biggest topics in sustainability, which has really helped UConn maintain it's commitment to environmental leadership," Pomposi said.

The university earned poor marks in just one category, receiving a "D" for UConn's endowment transparency. A complete list of UConn's holdings is only available to a select few members of the UConn Foundation.

Access to any of the evaluated universities' report cards is available at GreenReportCard.org.