Columbia University has received an A- on its 2009 College Sustainability Report Card, making it one of just 15 schools to receive the top grade.

This is up from last year's B+, and from the B received for 2007 when the Department of Environmental Stewardship was just getting started.

The Report Card project surveys the 300 schools in the United States and Canada that hold the largest endowments. It describes itself as "the only independent evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities" at colleges in both countries.

Participating schools are evaluated in nine areas: administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities, and shareholder engagement. Columbia received six A's, with B's for its efforts with climate change and energy, transportation, and endowment transparency.

According to a Report Card press release, the average grade of all schools surveyed was a C+.

The College Sustainability Report Card operates under the auspices of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, described in its literature as "a Cambridge (Mass.)-based nonprofit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices."

http://www.greenreportcard.org/

http://www.bwog.net/

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/

www.columbia.edu/cu/housingdining.edu