The University of Wisconsin has improved its ability to use natural resources efficiently, increasing its rating on the Sustainability Report Card score this year. UW now holds a B-plus on the ranking system from the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The report rated the 200 public and private schools with the largest endowments in categories including food and recycling, green building, climate change and energy, and transportation. Last year UW received a B. Founder and executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute Mark Orlowski said UW exhibited one of the trademarks of high-scoring schools — cooperation. “In many schools with the highest marks, it’s students working together with the administrators for innovative solutions, and solutions that work.” UW sophomore and coordinator of the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research group’s “Big Red, Go Green” campaign Kady Gifford said working directly on student awareness and education in addition to cooperation in university-based campaigns has contributed to this “step forward.” “We are working with the We Conserve campaign,” Gifford said. “It’s through the university, and their goal is to reduce our carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2012.” Gifford added WISPIRG aims to attach a student advisory board to We Conserve to increase student input in the program. “I think that we did well for probably two reasons,” said Thomas Eggert, a UW business lecturer who teaches classes in sustainability. One reason, he said, was the increased visibility of the We Conserve campaign on campus. The other reason is Gov. Jim Doyle’s initiatives to increase campus buildings’ adherence with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, according to Eggert. “The governor has said that all new projects are going to be built according to the LEED standard,” Eggert added. One of Eggert’s classes next year will be involved in actively pursuing LEED-certification documentation for Grainger Hall next year, and the new Institutes for Discovery and Union South will be LEED-certified as well, Eggert said. Orlowski also stressed the importance of LEED-certified buildings in getting an A rating in the green building category. UW received a B in that category. “A school that receives highest marks in green building is one that has made a real commitment to green building in all its projects,” Orlowski said. UW also scored lower in the climate change and energy category. “The main problem UW has, which doesn’t look like it’s going to be fixed, is our dependence on coal,” Gifford said. Eggert also called the Charter Street coal plant “an issue,” citing what he called its current response to environmental violations. The report gave UW top marks in transportation — citing the free buss pass program and UW’s extensive bike and pedestrian trails — and in food and recycling, especially noting emerging connections to local farmers and the twice-yearly organic meal program. Six schools topped UW’s rating: Harvard, Dartmouth, University of Vermont, University of Washington, Carleton and Middlebury, which all got A-minuses. The poorest ratings included Howard University, Samford University, Regent University and the Julliard School, all receiving F ratings.