printable versionStanford earns top marks on annual ‘green’ report card
Stanford has earned an overall "A-" on the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card from the Sustainable Endowments Institute in Cambridge, Mass.
Freshmen Galaan Dafa, left, and Shadi Bushra picked up a Prius reserved through Zipcar for a run to In-N-Out Burger.
With an overall "A-" on the College Sustainability Report Card, Stanford has once again taken top honors in the annual evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities.
Stanford was one of only 26 schools – out of the 332 American and Canadian colleges and universities studied – to earn the title "Overall College Sustainability Leader" in the report card released Wednesday.
"We feel good about the grade because the report card is based on a comprehensive grading system," said Fahmida Ahmed, manager of sustainability programs at Stanford. "To be named an overall college sustainability leader bodes well. That's exactly what Stanford wants to be – good in all aspects of sustainability, not just one."
Stanford received seven "As," one "B" and one "C" on this year's report card.
The College Sustainability Report Card, which was first released in 2007, is produced annually by the Sustainable Endowments Institute in Cambridge, Mass.
The report card is designed to "identify colleges and universities that are leading by example on sustainability," the institute said.
The overall "A-" was calculated from the marks Stanford received in nine categories, including green building, student involvement and transportation, each of which earned the university an "A" on the report card.
Stanford also received an "A" in administration, food and recycling, investment priorities and shareholder engagement.
The institute praised the university's transportation programs on the report card:
"Stanford has 24 vehicles in its car share program, including 14 hybrids. The university makes hundreds of bicycles available to the community, some free of charge, through bike-sharing programs. The university subsidizes public transportation, and has a free bus system that connects to public transit stops."
In assessing Stanford in the administration category, the institute wrote:
"Stanford has adopted a formal sustainability commitment, and has incorporated environmental stewardship into its master and strategic plans. The university employs 18 full-time professionals for sustainability-related work, including a bike coordinator, director of sustainable information technology, and a sustainability food coordinator."
The institute awarded Stanford a "B" in climate change & energy, noting that the university had reduced greenhouse gas emissions from commuting to below 1990 levels, and has "publicly reported carbon emissions inventories and is committed to reducing emissions."
Ahmed said the university expected a lower grade in the climate and energy category, because Stanford has not made a formal commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a specific amount, one of the factors used to determine the grade.
The institute gave Stanford a "C" for endowment transparency in the 2010 report card. As with many other private schools, Stanford does not make public the specific investments of its endowment fund. But in a related category, investment priorities, Stanford received an "A" for investing in renewable energy funds. The university also earned an "A" for shareholder engagement.
"All proxies are voted in-house according to investment responsibility and proxy voting guidelines that support environmental initiatives," the report card said. "Guidelines are updated as issues evolve based on recommendations from the Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing, which includes four student and two alumni representatives. Members of the school community are invited to submit 'Requests for Review' of the Management Company's relationship with any company about which there is cause for concern."
Stanford received an overall "A-" grade in 2007, a "B+" in 2008, and an "A-" in 2009.