Dartmouth and three other top universities received top marks from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which graded colleges and universities across North America as part of the first College Sustainability Report Card released Wednesday.
Using an A to F system, the report graded the 100 schools with the largest endowments in the United States, using seven categories: administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, endowment transparency, investment priorities and shareholder engagement.
The average of these seven categories was then calculated as an overall grade.
Stanford University, Harvard University, Williams College and Dartmouth received the four top grades, which were all A minuses. The results came as a surprise to Jim Merkel, Dartmouth's sustainability director since June of 2005, as he said that sustainability is difficult to accomplish for larger schools.
"I'm impressed that the big schools are on the list," he said.
Merkel hopes that the published grade will help promote environmentalism at Dartmouth.
"I think this is going to help Dartmouth stand out as a campus that's taking sustainability seriously," he said.
Dartmouth received an A for its efforts towards sustainability. The report rewarded schools that have a sustainability director, advisory council and office on their campuses.
Dartmouth's Resource Working Group, the sustainability advisory committee on campus, was praised for producing an annual sustainability report and creating 5,000 pro-conservation light switch stickers. The sustainability report tracks carbon emissions, water use, energy use, and solid waste disposal.
"We aren't asking the students to stay sustainable if we aren't going to be," Merkel said, referring to sustainable initiatives within the Provost's Office. "When we have guests we don't give them any disposable items."
Mary Gorman, associate provost and executive officer, commented on recent sustainability initiatives within the administration, announcing that "the Provost will soon appoint a committee to recommend steps that Dartmouth can take to reduce greenhouse gases."
Wednesday, Merkel announced that the office is working to have sustainability coordinators in every Greek house and every residence hall.
The Sustainable Endowments Institute was less impressed with Dartmouth's efforts towards climate change prevention and energy conservation; the College received a B in that category. Although energy consumption has dropped 5.5 percent on campus this year, Merkel expressed frustration with overall energy consumption trends.
"Carbon inventory is not pretty, it's actually grown by 66 percent since 1990," he said, adding that Dartmouth has not yet signed any protocols to reduce consumption.
The College plans to improve its ability to conserve energy by purchasing renewable energy credits and investing in local "green" power.
The report rewarded Dartmouth an A for its sustainable food and recycling practices, which are the primary focuses of the Local Foods Project and the Sustainable Dining Committee.
Merkel pointed out that Home Plate recently started offering waste-free dining.
"The focus of [the plan] is to make a prototype of one dining hall that is very low waste," he said.
Merkel reported that despite a 10.1 percent rise in sales over 2005, Home Plate was able to reduce garbage to only two pounds for over 500 meals.
Dartmouth received an A for adopting green construction practices and increasing the heating efficiency of buildings, but emerged with only a C for investment priorities. According to the report, the College lacks investment in both renewable energy funds and local community development.
The College received an A in shareholder engagement and endowment transparency. The report complimented Dartmouth on its open information policy towards the endowment, a policy that opens the door to environmentally friendly investments.
