According to the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card, the University of Wisconsin received a “B” in overall on-campus sustainability and environmental impact.
Conducted by the College Sustainability Institute in Cambridge, Mass., the annual report evaluated 322 colleges and universities on nine environmental categories, including food and recycling, climate Change and energy, as well as green building.
According to Susan Paykin, the institute’s spokesperson, the data was gathered from surveys sent out to appropriate school administrators.
The nine categories are then weighed equally and averaged to give each school a grade on a 4.0 GPA-based scale, Paykin said.
“A ‘B’ was definitely above average,” Paykin said in regards to UW’s score. “The highest grade we gave out was an A-, and only 26 schools out of 322 got an A- … so it was definitely a very respectable score.”
Although UW’s overall grade remained the same from 2009, and the university saw minor improvements in categories such as transportation and administrative policies.
“We’re always looking at different opportunities for transportation,” said James Harrod, project manager for UW’s We Conserve program. “There are all these different alternative methods to get downtown, so there is a department that works to find different avenues for individuals to get around.”
The university is also looking to improve its sustainability efforts by increasing student involvement — a category in which UW received one of its lowest scores, Harrod said.
“The biggest focus is outreach, and we are really working with student groups to get that conversation about conservation going,” Harrod added.
Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow is one of several student organizations working to improve campus sustainability.
According to UW junior and CFACT Vice President Mike Romano, CFACT works to educate students on alternative energy sources to help them make smarter energy-oriented decisions.
Despite having been denied funding by the Student Services Finance Committee, Romano said his group will continue to work hard to increase student awareness and make the campus more sustainable.
UW has kick-started other efforts as well, Harrod added, including a new class titled “Why Conserve” to educate students about their impact on the environment and ways they can improve.
The school also plans to build upon its already successful food and recycling efforts, Harrod said.
“One of the highlights we’re happy with is the composting program that’s collecting pre-consumer waste from all of our food prep,” Harrod said.
With the cooperation of several UW departments, Harrod said UW is projecting to compost roughly 400 tons of waste by the end of the year.
Within the Big Ten conference, UW ranked third for collegiate sustainability, tying with Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University and Michigan State University while falling short to the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota.
Only two other UW schools took part in the study. UW-River Falls scored a “B-” and UW-Oshkosh scored a “C-“.
