Institute grants MU improved sustainability grade

The university received a B-, one letter grade higher than 2009.

By Joe Buzzelli

Published Oct. 8, 2009

MU received a B- grade from the Sustainable Endowments Institute on its College Sustainability Report Card 2010, a full letter grade increase from the C- the university received last year.

Sustainability Coordinator Steve Burdic said two main factors contributed to the rise in MU's sustainability grade.

"The first was the creation of the sustainability office and appointment of a sustainability coordinator," Burdic said. "The other was a more coordinated approach to filling out the survey form to give them the best information available."

According to the institute's Web site, MU tied for second in the Big 12, behind the University of Colorado at Boulder. The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University also received a B-.

Sustainable Endowments Institute spokesman Cameron Bruns said surveys are sent out to the administration, dining services, the financial office and student organization leaders of each of the schools graded. The institute then reviews the surveys and analyzes the data to create a GPA for each of the nine categories, which is then averaged to get the final grade.

The institute considers a B- a sufficient grade, Bruns said.

"You guys do a fair amount to maintain sustainability," Bruns said. "A B- is actually a really good grade considering only 26 schools (out of 332) received an A-, which was the highest grade we gave out this year."

Although the school has made progress due both to the sustainability office and to the coordinator, Burdic said last year's grade might not have been an adequate reflection due to the way the surveys were filled out.

"We have been doing many things well for a long time but it is sometimes difficult to get the word out," Burdic said.

Bruns said the surveys from MU submitted last year were not as detailed and in-depth as the Sustainable Endowments Institute looks for.

"This year's surveys were a lot more detailed," Bruns said. "We were able to get a lot more complete information for the school. Maybe last year we just didn't have enough information to properly grade you guys."

Another area MU scored well in was student involvement, earning an A. Student Sustainability Coordinator Patrick Margherio said this acknowledgment was long overdue.

"Students have been doing a lot of good stuff relating to sustainability for years," Margherio said. "They're finally getting the recognition that they deserve."

Bruns said the major area where MU can improve is shareholder engagement, in which the university received an F.

"That means neither alumni nor students have a say in what your endowment is being invested in," Bruns said. "Only the investment managers handle the details of proxy voting and what your endowment is invested in. That's not what we like to see."

Despite the F received in shareholder engagement, Bruns said the university should be proud of the grades earned in the rest of the categories.

The letter grade increase could also have an effect on undergraduate admissions. Sixty-eight percent of 12,715 high school students applying to college said they would value having information about a college's commitment to the environment, according to the Princeton Review.

Although students and faculty, as well as the Sustainable Endowments Institute, are excited about the grade, Margherio said there is still plenty of room for improvement.

"This report card is a great indication of the new mindset that the university has take on, to be more sustainable," Margherio said. "But there's still a long way to go, there's still a lot of things we can do. But we are doing a great job at getting ready to do them."