CU Gets a 'B' in Green

In a report issued last Wednesday by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, Columbia received an overall "B" in sustainable and environmental campus and endowment policies.

The study, called the College Sustainability Report Card, was conducted to review how 100 colleges and universities "manage their resources in relation to their campus facilities and their endowment investments," according to the report. The assessment took into account seven different criteria to assess the school's greening policies, including categories like food and recycling, green building, and investment priorities.

Nilda Mesa, director of Environmental Stewardship, said that she thought Columbia had done well in the study.

"A "B" is a pretty good grade," Mesa said. "A lot of schools that did better have had these kinds of [environmental] programs in place for a long time." She noted that Columbia received the best overall grade of all the New York metro-area schools.

Mesa noted that building maintenance has improved, citing the use of environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies as one step to improving building operations and maintenance.

While Mesa called the study "a good baseline" for future work evaluating the areas upon which Columbia needs to improve, she also said that the information in the study "is not mind-blowing."

Some student leaders of environmental groups on campus, who had not previously heard about the report or the grade, had different opinions on the study.

"Honestly, it sounds like a case of grade inflation to me. We shouldn't be passing," Ariel Zucker, CC '09 and a member of Eco-Reps, wrote in an e-mail. The Eco-Reps program is dedicated to educating the Columbia community about sustainable living. "Although I admit that the Columbia faculty, administration, and students do make some effort to live and work sustainably, to say that we are succeeding is a bit of an overstatement."

Eco-Rep M. Six Silberman, SEAS '07 and a Spectator columnist, said that he felt that the 'B' grade "sounds a little generous." He said that both navigating the administration and attempting to make the existing buildings on campus more environmentally sustainable are "two significant structures that must be worked within, that don't make it as easy as the dreamers among us might conceive."

Mesa said she was excited about the possibilities for improvement.

"So much of the research that has been the basis for climate-change analysis and policy-making is from here and continues to be here," Mesa said. "We have enormous possibilities."