MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Middlebury College is one of just six institutions nationally to be selected as an “Overall College Sustainability Leader” in the 2008 edition of the College Sustainability Report Card.
Middlebury College’s mission statement, adopted in 2006, prominently mentions sustainability, and this and other environmental stewardship issues make up many of the 82 recommendations that are part of Middlebury’s strategic plan, “Knowledge Without Boundaries.” The drive to implement and fund those recommendations, the Middlebury Initiative, also focuses extensively on sustainability. Middlebury’s “report card” for this year mentioned those commitments, as well as the College’s:
- plan to become carbon neutral by 2016;
- adoption of green building standards;
- purchase of local food products by the dining services;
- successful recycling and waste diversion programs;
- construction of a biomass facility;
- investment in renewable energy investment funds;
- establishment of a “Green Fund” as part of The Middlebury Initiative;
- and creation of an Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investment.
Said Middlebury College President Ronald D. Liebowitz, “It is nice to have external confirmation of the many good things the College is doing in the area of sustainability, much of it initiated and inspired by the research, classwork, dedication, and commitment of our students, faculty, and staff.”
The College Sustainability Report Card seeks to evaluate the sustainability of campus operations and endowment investments. Published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the report card examines the practices of the 200 public and private universities in North America with the largest endowments, ranging from $230 million to nearly $35 billion.
Middlebury, Harvard University, Dartmouth College, the University of Washington, Carleton College, and the University of Vermont were the only schools to perform well enough in all categories to merit the highest overall grade of “A-,” earning them the distinction of “Overall College Sustainability Leaders.” Middlebury received “A’s” on seven of the eight categories on the report card.
Twenty-five schools, including Middlebury, achieved “Campus Sustainability Leader” status by scoring high marks in all five campus categories. Middlebury was given an “A” in each of the campus categories: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, Green Building, and Transportation.
According to the institute, this year’s results show a “green groundswell” on campuses, with nearly 45 percent of schools committing to fight climate change through cutting carbon emissions. High-performance green building standards guide new construction at 59 percent of schools, while 42 percent are using hybrid or electric vehicles in transportation fleets. Notably, 37 percent of schools purchase renewable energy and 30 percent produce their own wind or solar energy. A substantial 70 percent buy food from local farms and 64 percent serve fair trade coffee.
The College Sustainability Report Card is part of the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s effort to encourage discussion on sustainability in higher education. A special project of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the institute receives funding from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation, among others.