Barnard gets a passing grade, but barely

In the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card, a measure of the environmental stewardship of national colleges, the Sustainable Endowments Institute gave Barnard’s “greenness” an embarrassing D+. Even if the rating system is imperfect, the report highlights the need for Barnard and its EcoReps to push for greater student involvement in recycling and other sustainability programs.

Barnard Vice President for Administration Lisa Gamsu and members of EcoReps attribute Barnard’s grade to the College’s frustration at a poor 2009 rating and consequent refusal to complete their 2010 surveys. They maintain that the report is not a valid indicator of Barnard’s green initiatives. Indeed, Barnard’s seemingly thorough commitment to ecological sustainability and recycling presents the possibility that the sustainability report is inaccurate, failing to credit Barnard, for instance, for participation in Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 Challenge, or for a recycling program that seems more comprehensive than Columbia’s. Some EcoReps suggest that Barnard’s lack of a sustainability coordinator resulted in many unconnected sustainability efforts on their campus, while larger universities often have teams of coordinators familiar with the rating process and who are better equipped to provide the committee with relevant information about programs and initiatives. However, other smaller liberal arts colleges, such as Dickinson College, still received an A-, the highest grade out of any school.

While the Sustainability Report Card may be flawed, it still serves as a reminder of the necessity to focus on sustainability, particularly with regard to the most troubling aspects of Barnard’s full report: failing grades in the “Administration,” “Student Involvement,” and “Endowment Transparency” sections. The Sustainable Endowments Committee awards colleges and universities ratings in a variety of different areas, cumulating in the final grade. Even if the report is inaccurate, the fact that student involvement was one of the factors that dragged down the average reflects poorly on the EcoReps, who are paid for their work at raising awareness and levels of participation.

Barnard’s EcoReps should seek to narrow the gap between their actual programs and initiatives and their programs’ results. While the representatives should be commended for their new, comprehensive Web site that supplies students with useful resources on sustainability, they need to strive further to make “being green,” and particularly recycling, the norm in students’ lives. The main problem with initiatives such as Barnard’s extensive recycling program seems to be that students do not understand the process. For example, some may be unaware that even a few bottles tossed into the wrong container can lead to problems down the road in the recycling process. EcoReps could promote recycling more directly and actively by personally patrolling stations, being assigned to monitor recycling on particular dorm floors, and showing students how and where to recycle different types of plastic containers. They should also look beyond recycling to consider composting in dormitories, a relatively simple proposition so long as it is organized well. The EcoReps and Barnard’s administration can help turn green initiatives into a standard part of students’ lives instead of just a form of activism.

Regardless of the merits of an external survey, Barnard should be a leader in sustainability. College shapes many habits that will remain with students for the rest of their lives, and recycling must be one of them.

Tags: Opinion, Editorial Board