The University of New Mexico’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and reducing the university’s impact on the environment was reflected in the recently updated College Sustainability Report Card. UNM’s sustainability grade increased to a “B” this year from a “C” in last year’s report.
Sustainability is one of the university’s core values, UNM President David Schmidly said. “While we meet the needs of the present, we must always be mindful about not compromising the well-being of future generations.”
The College Sustainability Report Card examines the environmental impact of 300 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. These universities represent schools with the 300 largest endowments, over $380 billion in endowment assets.
Improvements in campus sustainability from the Institutional Support Services department drove the university’s improvement from last year. The university completed its campus greenhouse gas inventory, as required by membership in the American College and Universities Presidents Climate Commitment, in 2007. The UNM Sustainability Council’s carbon neutral task force is examining how the university can reduce those greenhouse gas emissions.
“Attaining a truly sustainable campus will require altering almost every aspect of University life in some fashion. In order to accomplish this we need the support of the University community,” said Mary Vosevich, director of the Physical Plant Department. “Thus, any advancement or improvement we make in sustainability, like our improvement noted by the Green Report Card, is a reflection of the support for sustainability demonstrated by the leadership of the University along with students, faculty and staff.”
The Transportation category garnered the university its only “A” in last year’s report card, citing the University’s use of CNG and E85 fuels, free city bus passes for students, shuttle service to the city transit center, and bicycle racks, lockers and maintenance service on campus.
This year UNM Parking and Transportation Services helped the university win another solid transportation “A.” In addition to the programs which received recognition last year, the report card noted free bus passes for the entire UNM community, and the Zipcar car sharing program.
“We have come a long way in the last couple of years, and we have more that we want to accomplish,” said Clovis Acosta, director of Parking and Transportation Services. “I am thrilled that our transportation demand management program is recognized for its contributions to campus sustainability initiatives.”
The new Lobo Growers Market, and the commitment of UNM’s students to its success, was credited in two sections of the report card, in Food & Recycling and Student Involvement. The Market provides students, staff, faculty, and members of the community the chance to sample the products produced by local growers and sustainable businesses.
The University of New Mexico fared strongly against other regional schools listed in the Green Report Card. New Mexico State received a "C-" in the recent rankings, while the University of Texas – Austin’s "C+" also fell below UNM’s score. Of the Mountain West Conference schools listed, UNM’s grade tied Utah’s for the top spot.
UNM’s report is available at: Green Report Card - University of New Mexico.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816. E-Mail: bhendrix@unm.edu.
Posted by bhendrix at September 25, 2008 12:28 PM