Staff Report
UNM got a C for sustainability.
The Sustainability Endowment Institute released its 2008 Campus Sustainability Report Card on Wednesday.
The report covers the 200 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada with the largest endowment funds.
It grades universities in eight categories relating to sustainability, including buildings, administration, and food services and recycling.
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The institute compiled information for the report through public records and three surveys that were sent to the universities.
UNM spokeswoman Karen Wentworth said she is unsure if the University received the surveys, and if so, whether anyone responded to them.
All the categories are weighted equally to give each school an overall grade, said Mark Orlowski, director of the institute.
"We just felt all these areas are important for sustainability," he said.
Most schools, 41.5 percent, got the same overall grade as UNM.
The University of Colorado got a B-minus, Texas Tech got a D, and the University of Arizona got a C-plus.
UNM got an F in two categories: shareholder engagement and endowment transparency.
Endowment transparency is based on how open the University is with its investments and use of endowed funds, according to the report.
"The University and the UNM Foundation have no known policy of disclosure of endowment holdings or shareholder voting records," the report states. "Therefore, there is no known ability to access this information."
The UNM Foundation questions the grade because the organization's records are open, Wentworth said.
Wentworth said the foundation will review the institute's methodology for the report.
"They don't quite understand why they've got this grade," she said. "They feel like they are transparent."
Shareholder engagement is based on how the University makes decisions regarding sustainable policies and investments, according to the report.
The institute gave schools points for having an advisory committee of students, faculty and alumni to research and discuss policies on sustainability.
Wentworth said the University will review its grades and see how it can be more sustainable.
"We will look at this with the objective of doing better," she said. "The University wants to improve its efficiency. It just makes sense."
Transportation is the only category UNM got an A in.
Reasons for the grade include free bus service for students, on-campus bicycle services and free shuttles to and from the Alvarado Rail Runner stop, said Cynthia Martin, program planning manager for Parking and Transportation Services.
UNM shuttles use compressed natural gas, and new University vehicles use ethanol fuel,
Martin said.
She said the grade was for the University's transportation system, so it includes efforts by Physical Plant and Recreational Services, which run the bicycle shop at Johnson Center.
"It's an integral approach. It's not just our department," she said. "It's a combination of things. It's not just us. We have a big piece of it."
She said sustainability is important to the transportation department.
"It's something that we're devoting more and more attention to," she said. "We're just happy somebody noticed."
