This week, The College Sustainability Report Card gave AU a respectable B- in its annual sustainability ratings for nationwide colleges and universities. This year's grade is a dramatic improvement over last year's grade of D-, which reflects hard work and improvement by students, administrators, faculty and staff alike. Congratulations for the university community are in order!
Perhaps our grade should be even better. Surprisingly, when broken down by category, AU's "student involvement" earned only a C. Eco-Sense, a student-run campus organization, has led the way for AU's improvement and strongly advocated for increased utilization of wind energy across the university as whole. When Eco-Sense promoted "Power Shift '07," the national youth sustainability conference held at the University of Maryland, the group established AU's concerns on a broader scale. Recall also last year's bike-powered concert. While AU students as a whole could become more involved, it seems that The College Sustainability Report Card missed some important facts when giving AU students a "C."
We should not just recognize Eco-Sense's efforts. AU President Neil Kerwin took an important step towards codifying the university's sustainability goals when he signed the President's Climate Commitment. Bon Appetit also works to be environmentally friendly
Slick-looking new recycling bins have appeared in the residence halls, allowing less environmentally motivated students an easier recycling avenue. Workers sort trash in clear bags into the recycling as well. Furthermore the new campus construction is environmentally friendly.
It's also noteworthy that AU tied with Georgetown for the best environmental score among D.C. area schools. Other D.C. schools like Catholic, Gallaudet and Howard Universities each scrape the bottom of the barrel with D-, D and F, respectively.
It is true that AU isn't perfect and does have some room for improvement, but the steps it has taken are huge and deserve recognition. The green improvements occurring on campus make it certain that AU will have an even better grade next year.
