Yale was one of only seven colleges to score an “A” in the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s 2011 College Sustainability Report Card, improving from last year and outperforming many of its peer institutions. The Report Card ranked Yale at the top of its class in environmentally thoughtful initiatives, practices, and systems. Julie Newman, Director of the Yale Office of Sustainability, noted that this rating reflects increased standards for Yale’s sustainability efforts: “Our 2011 ranking, an improvement over 2010, demonstrates that Yale continues to progress on many fronts as measured by the SEI. We must continue to maintain our momentum and remain committed to a process of continuous improvement to achieve our sustainability goals.”
Based on a series of rigorous surveys, the rating system focuses on nine main categories: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, Green Building, Student Involvement, Transportation, Endowment Transparency, Investment Priorities, and Shareholder Engagement. Yale earned perfect scores in all sections but Endowment Transparency, which nevertheless, improved drastically from a D last year to a B this year.
The Sustainable Endowment Institute credits Yale’s Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategy, various sustainable systems for producing and conserving energy, sustainable dining standards, students groups such as the Yale Student Environmental Coalition (YSEC) and the Student Taskforce for Environmental Partnership (STEP), and commitment to meet or exceed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold standards in all new construction – the ranking gave a special nod toward Kroon Hall – among other practices, as reason for Yale’s outstanding score.
To read more about the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s rankings for Yale and other schools,click here.