GreenReportCard.org recently released its 2011 College Sustainability Report Card, awarding UH a grade of B-plus
A placard used during RecycleMania Day shows the new cheer of the University. Recycling education is the first step in sustainability, according to Green UH. | Daily Cougar File Photo
for the 2009 school year.
The Green Report Card, a list of the most environmentally friendly universities in the US and Canada, began in 2006. Since then, green programs on campuses have skyrocketed.
“The green groundswell on campus is evident in a wide variety of energy-saving initiatives, such as sourcing food from campus farms and reducing hot water use through tray-less dining,” said Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which publishes the Report Card.
According to a Green Report Card press release, no university had tray-less dining available in 2006. Presently, 75 percent of universities offer tray-less dining.
UH’s steps to going green have been aided by Green UH, an organization aimed at making the campus more earth friendly.
Green UH, founded in 2008, was behind the push for installing recycle bins throughout the campus.
“Green UH is continuing to focus on our core activities of teaching our UH community to live sustainability — both on campus and at their homes,” said Assistant Vice President for University Services Emily Messa, who oversees Green UH.
The department has created Green UH training and departmental certification programs, which walk people through the key steps for living sustainability.
UH’s Sustainability Task Force is working on a climate action plan and energy policy, which will outline UH’s policy for reducing the amount of energy consumption on campus.
“Recycling is the gateway to living sustainably. Teaching people to recycle is the first step to living more sustainably,” Messa said. “Once you begin recycling, you inherently begin to think about the next step and want to do more.”
Messa likens the core focus of Green UH as being similar to that of a university: knowledge creation and transference.
“On our Task Force, we have a team of students, faculty and staff,” she said. “We are working together to educate our community about sustainability and learning new ways of teaching people, as well as how to make the University a living-learning laboratory for sustainable living.”
Green UH is not only focused on publications and websites, but on educating the community through large events the department holds throughout the year, including RecycleMania, an Earth Day Carnival and Green UH Day.
“What we try to espouse in all of our publications and training is that we all have a responsibility in living green, and universities have a unique and important role in teaching their individual communities about the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle,” Messa said.
The Green Report Card grades the top 300 schools with the highest endowments, and there is no opt-out option for the grading.
“The green report card shows ideas on how and where a school can improve its sustainability,” said Christina Billingsley, a senior research fellow at the Sustainable Endowments Institute.
“UH can improve its overall grade by focusing new initiatives in the areas it got the lowest grades, particularly in shareholder engagement, investment priorities, food and recycling and student involvement.”
