Letter from the Director

October 27, 2010

Dear Reader,

The Sustainable Endowments Institute is pleased to announce the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2011. The new Report Card is the most comprehensive edition that we have ever produced. In addition to profiles for 322 schools, 1,100 full survey responses, comprising more than 10,000 pages of data, are also being released.

The Institute seeks to encourage learning from best practices and is offering the new Get Answers feature at GreenReportCard.org. This tool is the first of its kind on the web to offer direct access to sustainability information at more than 300 colleges and universities across North America.

This year's research process collected more detailed quantitative data by expanding our survey instruments. As a result, we have been able to enhance our evaluation process as described in the Methodology section. Our research team corresponded with school administrators and students, compiled extensive information, and developed 322 profiles—one for each school. We have included 22 opt-in schools, which applied to be evaluated, while continuing to review the 300 schools with the largest endowments.

This year saw the second highest participation levels to date: 87 percent of schools responded to the campus survey; 89 percent to the dining survey; 80 percent to the endowment survey; and 81 percent to the student survey. Some administrators indicated that gathering such detailed data about sustainability at their school motivated them to reassess their commitment to sustainability or to rethink the metrics they use to measure their own progress.

We are especially grateful for the extensive effort involved in filling out the surveys and would like to express our appreciation to all participating schools. We welcome feedback as we work to further improve the Report Card and will be actively seeking input through a comprehensive review process.

Among responding schools, 90 percent agreed to publish the full text of their survey responses online. We encourage administrators, alumni, faculty, staff, students, trustees, and others to use this information to learn from schools that are at the leading edge of advancing sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices. To learn more about how to use the College Sustainability Report Card, please visit the Resources section of the website.

In response to feedback we solicited from administrators, students, and other members of college and university communities, we have posted online, for the second year, the percentage breakdown of the points available for each of the 52 indicators distributed among the nine equally weighted categories.

It is our goal to work with colleges and universities to encourage improved sustainability practices. The 322 schools included in this year's Report Card not only serve as microcosms of the larger society, but also possess a combined total of over $325 billion in endowment assets. This places them in a unique position to model successful integration of sustainability into both campus operations and investment practices.

Ultimately, we hope that the information collected in each edition of the Report Card can serve as a resource beyond higher education by providing a comprehensive overview of best sustainability practices for institutions.

Sincerely,
Mark Orlowski
Founder & Executive Director
Sustainable Endowments Institute