Boston University received a grade of “B” for its initiatives to promote a sustainable and environmentally conscious campus, according to the 2011 College Sustainability Report Card.
The Sustainable Endowments Institute gave more than 300 schools letter grades for their sustainability efforts in the report that was released on Oct. 27 2010, according to its website.
The Institute averaged nine sub-scores based on the university’s sustainability efforts in different categories: Administration, Climate Change and Energy, Food and Recycling, Green Building, Student Involvement, Transportation, Endowment Transparency, Investment Priorities and Shareholder Engagement.
Under review for the fifth year, BU scored an “A” in the categories of Transportation, Student Involvement and Food and Recycling. The reviews for the sub-scores mentioned initiatives such as the BU Shuttle under Transportation and the Energy Club under Student Involvement, among other efforts.
BU received a “B” in the report when it came to most other categories. The report showed that the lowest grades came from Endowment Transparency and Shareholder Engagement, receiving a “C” and “D,” respectively.
Sustainability Director Dennis Carlberg, however, said the report card is not entirely accurate or relevant.
“What they do is they look at the year that the school year ends, which was May 2011,” Carlberg said. “We provide them with the information over the summer for the 2011 report card, so, unfortunately, it’s old.”
Carlberg said that the Sustainability team has moved forward with many initiatives since compiling information to send to the Sustainable Endowment Institute for this report. One recent example, he said, is the soon-to-be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified buildings that are underway at 100 Bay State Rd. and both 85 and 87 Saint Mary’s St.
Carlberg also said that BU has made strides by participating in the Billion Dollar Green Challenge, which asks colleges “to invest a total of one billion dollars in self-managed green revolving funds that finance energy efficient upgrades,” according to the challenge’s website.
Chelsea Merget, a College of Communication senior, said she is enthusiastic about Sustainability at BU.
“I wasn’t really into sustainability before I went here, but now I think about it a lot more, especially when I go home,” Merget said. “So, I mean, if anything it’s effective.”
In its first year under review, BU received a “D” from the Institute, according to the 2007 report. BU’s grades increased in following years, receiving its first overall grade of a “B” in the 2010 report.
Some students said they think that Sustainability could do more to make environmentally conscious living more attainable for students.
“I don’t think they’ve made a huge impact,” said Matt Younis, a sophomore in the College of Communication.
Younis said that the Sustainability team could make more improvements in terms of recycling specifically.
“They could put recycling bins on every floor,” Younis said. “In 1019, we don’t have recycling bins on our floor. I think that would help.”
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Olivia Hathaway said that she feels that sustainability efforts have not gotten enough response and cooperation from the BU community.
“I think people tend to ignore it,” Hathaway said. “If [students and the school] tried together to do things better I think we can improve.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the print version of this article, published on Nov. 17, the article misstates the date the report card was released. It was released on Oct. 27, 2010 not 2011. The Sustainable Endowments Institute did not publish a new addition of the report card this year.
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