How green is VCU?

By Leila Ugincius

The Sustainable Endowments Institute has issued its annual College Sustainability Report Card, awarding Virginia Commonwealth University a B-, placing the university in the top third of the 300 institutions listed.

Moreover, VCU was one of 34 institutions whose overall grade improved by one full letter grade or more over the previous year. In 2008, VCU received a C-.

VCU improved its marks on four of the nine categories graded this year. In the Administration category, which addresses action at the administrative or trustee level, VCU earned a B — up two full letter grades from the D it received in 2008.

The university’s new director of sustainability, Jacek Ghosh, attributes this year’s higher grade to a myriad of factors, including President Eugene P. Trani’s signing of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, the creation of the director of sustainability position, the establishment of the framework for the VCU Sustainability Committee and a detailed list of initiatives undertaken by VCU.

Other areas where the university improved were Climate Change & Energy, Endowment Transparency and Food & Recycling. VCU’s grades remained the same in the Green Building, Investment Priorities, Shareholder Engagement and Transportation categories. Its grade did not worsen in any category.

Of the 15 Virginia institutions that have signed the Presidents Climate Commitment only two were graded in the report card: VCU and the University of Richmond, which earned a C+. Of the other Virginia institutions graded, only the University of Virginia, with a B, received a higher grade than VCU. Virginia Tech tied with VCU with a B-.

The College Sustainability Report Card is the nation’s only independent evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability — activities that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In contrast to the academic focus on sustainability in research and teaching, the green report card examines colleges and universities through the lens of sustainability.

For the full report on VCU, visit http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2009/schools/virginia-commonwealth-university.