COLLEGE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT CARD - A review of campus and endowment policies at leading institutions

Jan 31, 2007, CHAPEL HILL -- Duke University got a "B" grade and UNC-Chapel Hill got a "C" on the new College Sustainability Report Card, which rates 100 colleges on campus greening practices and endowment policies.

Four institutions -- Harvard and Stanford universities and Dartmouth and Williams colleges -- got "A-" grades in the report, released by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a Cambridge, Mass.-based research group.

Universities were graded in seven areas: administration; climate change and energy; food and recycling; green building; endowment transparency; investment priorities and shareholder engagement.

UNC got grades of "A," "B," "C," "B," "F," "C" and "F," respectively.

Duke got an "F" in endowment transparency, a "D" in shareholder engagement and "A" grades in the other categories.

UNC was praised for hiring a variety of staff members to promote sustainability, but got a "C" in the investment category for not making statements about investing in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

Giving Duke an "A" in the energy category, report authors call Duke one of the country's largest higher-education purchasers of green power. Hydro- and wind power is used for 31 percent of Duke's needs, the report said.

In investment priorities, Duke was commended for its $5 million investment in the Latino Community Credit Union in Durham.