Earlier this month, the Sustainable Endowments Institute released its annual college sustainability grades, and in several categories, Ohio University didn't make the cut.
The College Sustainability Report Card, which rates schools' sustainability success in nine areas, awarded OU a D in transportation and an F in shareholder engagement. Despite low marks in those categories, OU maintained a B- grade overall, the same as last year.
OU received an A in administration, climate change and energy, student involvement and endowment transparency.
Last August, OU installed the largest in-vessel composting system at any university in the country, and Recycle Mania, which started in 2001 as a recycling competition between OU and Miami University, has grown to a nationwide contest.
OU is developing a comprehensive plan for sustainability on a universitywide level, said Sonia Marcus, OU's sustainability coordinator.
Of the 420 vehicles in the (OU) fleet
only two of those vehicles are hybrids Lea Lupkin, a spokeswoman for the institute, said. None of them are electric. None use a biodiesel blend. So that's absolutely a place where there can be significant improvement.
Lupkin added that there are numerous other problems with OU's current transportation system, citing the absence of incentives for carpooling, public transportation subsidies and a coordinated bicycle program.
Athens' size and setup makes it difficult for OU to maintain many of these programs, especially public transportation subsidies, Marcus said.
The fact is that our campus is very walkable and very bikeable and that contributes to students moving around in a more sustainable way
even though that's not officially counted as part of our transportation score
Marcus said.
Of the 332 schools graded, 105 received an A in Transportation - about 32 percent. Three of the 105 are other Ohio schools: Oberlin College, Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati.
Administrators at Oberlin, which earned a perfect grade in transportation for the first time this year, credit alternate transportation programs with earning the college high marks. Those programs include a 25-year effort toward a bike-friendly campus, a car-sharing program and subsidies for public transportation, said Nathan Engstrom, Oberlin's coordinator for the Office of Environmental Sustainability.
Students themselves are active in alternative transportation projects
Engstrom said.
Oberlin is currently exploring the option of a green-themed dorm, which will have environmentally friendly requirements for students living there.
The University of Cincinnati offers reserved spots for carpoolers and hybrid vehicles, as well as electric vehicle plug-in stations, said M. B. Reilly, the college's assistant director of public relations. It is also initiating a bike-sharing program.
Some of these efforts are really creative
Reilly said.
Shareholder engagement, the sole category in which OU walked away with an F
looks at a school's investment of its endowment and its participation in sustainability movements as a shareholder. Of the schools surveyed, 41 percent failed this section, and Oberlin was the only Ohio school that received an A.
One reason OU - and so many other schools - received low scores is its relatively low profile, Lupkin said.
The endowment category is not as sexy
she said. It doesn't have as much marketing value. It's generally a more private part of the university operation.
Marcus added that endowment is an area that often leaves the university with its hands tied. Because of OU's many investments in mutual funds, she said, the
university's ability to use its shareholder vote in companies' sustainability goals is limited.
We could certainly make it more of a priority
but right now the fact is that a lot of that money is invested in mutual funds
and it makes it impossible to really get engaged in shareholder activism at a particular company
