October 28, 2010
UW again receives top ranking for sustainability
For the fourth year in a row, the UW received a grade of A- on the College Sustainability Report Card, issued by the Sustainability Endowments Institute.
This is the only independent sustainability evaluation of campus operations and endowment investments.
The UW received a grade of A in seven of the nine categories: administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, transportation, endowment transparency and investment priorities. The report card identified the UW as one of 52 Overall College Sustainability Leaders among more than 300 institutions surveyed.
The report card noted that sustainability is a component of the University’s master and strategic plans. The UW has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 36 percent from 2005 levels by 2035. The UW’s electrical purchases for the Seattle campus are from 100 percent renewable sources and are carbon neutral. Forty percent of UW’s food budget is spent on local items. Nearly all eggs are cage free, and 100 percent of milk is hormone free. All food waste in the dining halls and throughout campus is composted, and dining services diverts 63 percent of its waste from landfills. The UW has 11 LEED-certified buildings.
The UW offers many transportation options that discourage the use of single-occupancy vehicles; 88 percent of students and 62 percent of employees commute via environmentally preferable means. The university uses investment managers who consider environmental, sustainability, and corporate governance factors.
Complete information is available online here.
