MU receives a C- on The College Sustainability Report Card

Sustain Mizzou continues to promote sustainability despite MU's C- grade.

By Lakeisha Williams

Published Sept. 30, 2008

When it comes to being green, MU is only average, according to one rating.

When graded by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, MU received an overall C- on the group's sustainability report card.

The university's sustainability score is composed of nine individual grades for administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities and shareholder engagement.

Sustain Mizzou president Patrick Margherio said the group is working to increase MU's sustainability.

"We have 14 different projects that we are doing this semester alone, all of which highlight an aspect of sustainability and (try) to educate and show students and staff how they can be more sustainable in both their lives and on campus," Sustain Mizzou president Patrick Margherio said in an e-mail.

Margherio said he is quite pleased with the report card, but said he feels it does not accurately depict all the progress MU has made in the past few years.

"As far as Sustain Mizzou is concerned, we are going to continue doing our work to help Mizzou become even better with the hope of someday attaining that A grade," Margherio said.

Because MU has no known policy relating to campus-wide sustainability, the report card gave MU a D in administration. In climate change and energy, MU received a C for reducing greenhouse gases by using biomass wood and tire chips instead of coal, and replacing 98 percent of all exterior lighting and 85 percent of all interior lighting with energy-efficient bulbs.

According to the report card, the university purchased from 15 local food suppliers in 2007 and occasionally purchased beef and pork from the University Meat Lab. MU also diverts 20 percent of campus waste to recycling and is launching a pilot compost project. These efforts earned the university a B in food and recycling.

In green building, MU received a C for attempting to incorporate sustainability into all construction projects. The university also received a C in transportation. In 2006 MU launched a program requiring 50 percent of non-exempt fleet vehicles purchased to be alternatively fueled, and also provides shuttle, bus transit and metro services.

For endowment transparency, the university received a C by making its list of endowment holdings available by request. The university does not invest in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds, earning MU a C in investment priorities. Also MU received an F in shareholder engagement because it asks its investment managers to handle the details of proxy voting.

Finally, MU received a C in student involvement, recognizing the work of Sustain Mizzou.

"I feel that as a university we could all do more to improve Mizzou's sustainability," Sustain Mizzou member Monica Cook said. "I think that the organization Sustain Mizzou is helpful. I especially like the recycled notebooks they sell, but I think they should do more to spread their ideas and get MU students involved."