Colleges make headway in sustainability
However, report says institutions are weak on academic front
By CCTIMES, Published September 14, 2008

While environmentally progressive and sustainable operations rank among the highest priorities on college campuses, fewer environmental-related courses are offered to students, according to a survey by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

“Campus leaders value sustainability. They speak about it, plan for it, hire staff to support it and the campuses they lead are steadily becoming greener models for the wider society,” said Julian Keniry, NWF’s senior director of campus and community leadership. “At the same time, the educational curricula to prepare students for a post-college world influenced by climate change are not keeping pace. On most campuses, the business leaders and facilities managers appear to me making greater strides toward sustainability than their faculty peers.”

Just over half of colleges and universities offer either an undergraduate major or minor in environmental and sustainability studies, down from two-thirds in 2001, the report said.

Still, the study cited several colleges and universities that had exception efforts. Columbus State Community College (Ohio), NorthWest Arkansas Community College, Salt Lake Community College (Utah), Santa Rosa Junior College (California) and Vermont Technical College were cited for their recruiting program and offering interdisciplinary degrees in environmental or sustainability studies. Chattahoochee Valley Community College (Alabama), Jefferson Davis Community College (Alabama) and the University of Hawaii-Windward Community College were lauded for the number of students taking a course in ecology or sustainability. At least 75 percent of students at the colleges have taken at least one course addressing natural systems.

The NWF report, the nation’s largest study to gauge trends and news developments in campus sustainability, reviewed more than 1,000 U.S. universities and colleges on a broad range of conservation issues, including energy, water, transportation, landscaping, waste reduction and environmental literacy. It compared finding with the previous NWF study conducted in 2001.

The sustainability movement appears to be gaining traction among college leaders. Management generally values environmental, social and economic sustainability and is putting systems in place to broaden and sustain engagement across campuses. Indicators of the commitment include:

• Increases goal-setting to improve performance.
• More staffing for sustainability programs
• Increases in orientation programs on waste reduction and other sustainability efforts.

However, funding is the biggest hurdle to expanding programming, the report said.

Another new survey echoes the finds. Two-thirds of colleges and universities have gone or are going “green” by taking energy-saving and environmentally conscious steps, according to a survey taken among attendees at the annual the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education conference this summer. Of those colleges that haven’t yet gone green, three-fourths have at least looked into how to be more environmentally sensitive, but they are often held back by budget limitations.

The NWF report highlights then successes as well as weak areas. Since 2001, the number of campuses using clean renewable energy has grown significantly, and new movement to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is gaining ground. But little progress has been made to reduce congestion, pollution and other environmental impacts associated with campus commuting, the report said.

The study shows that the most prevalent environmental initiative is water conservation, compared to recycling in 2001. Conserving energy is 2008’s most popular performance goal, versus the 2001 goal of upping environmental performance in new buildings.

The study spotlighted colleges and universities—including two-year colleges—that excel in certain categories, such as on-campus clean energy sources, energy efficiency and conservation and environmental goal-setting. A handful of institutions received high marks in several categories, including Cascadia Community College (Washington).

Butte College (California) was profiled in the report for being a leader in energy efficiency and conservation. The college operates California’s largest community college transportations system, with three natural gas and 10 biodiesel buses, all funded through a student-approved transportation fee.

The American Association of Community Colleges co-sponsored of the NWF study.

The report is available at www.nwf.org/campusEcology/campusreportcard.cfm.