While Saint Louis University boasts an average GPA of 3.7 for it’s incoming class, it cannot pull the same scores in it’s sustainabilty efforts. Receiving a C from the College Sustainability Report Card, SLU falls below the average.

The report card assigns letter grades to each institution based on several different factors that show their commitment to sustainable practices. For the 2011 report card, SLU received a C, the same grade we received last year, putting the school at the lower end of the grade spectrum.

“Majority of the schools this year have been in the B range,” said Christina Billingsley, a senior research fellow at the Sustainable Endowments Institute. “SLU shows consistency, as our grading gets a bit tougher every year, so it’s good that they haven’t dropped, but the grade could be better. “

The sustainability report card assigns grades based on public documentation and several surveys filled out by the University. The surveys address the areas of overall campus sustainability, dining services, student perspective, and endowment use. The surveys are then used to assign grades to nine different categories, which are used to assess the overall grade the institution will receive.

“SLU has a diverse range in all these categories,” Billingsley said.

While SLU received relatively high grades in our efforts in transportation, food services, and investment policies, the University received F’s in the areas of Administration and Share Holder Engagement. Billingsley thinks administrative effort and the accessibility of information would be an easy area for SLU to develop in.

“Transparency would be a great area to improve in,” Billingsley said. “We look at how accessible information is to the pubic regarding endowment holdings and how much shareholders participate in deciding how much money is given to sustainability.”

SLU’s campus evaluation survey this year was coordinated by the Division of Business and Finance, with significant input from other departments on campus.

According to the response, SLU has yet to implement some of the most important aspects of a sustainable institution.

The University does not have a formal sustainability policy or a master plan to create one.

There are no departments dedicated solely to making the campus more sustainable and the school has yet to evaluate things like amount green house gas emissions and building energy consumption. The energy consumed is mostly coal and natural gas and SLU uses little renewable energy.

The school does not compost and lacks policies regarding green maintenance and transportation.

“The administration needs to be doing more,” said James Meiners, the chair man of the Student Government Association’s Environmental Task Force. “Purchasing policies are okay, but we can improve. There’s not really a focus on it now, at least nothing long term.”

Meiners stated that some plans are in place that will boost the University’s grade in the future.

“We signed with [Sustainability Tracking Assessment Rating System] in [Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education],” said Meiners. “We’ve been pushing for this for two years and it’s finally been accepted.”

STARS is a program that takes a look at an institution’s energy consumption and green house gas emissions and points out where they can improve.

Meiners said he believes SLU has been inefficient with energy consumption in on campus buildings, especially in the dorms.

“The buildings are badly insulated, and that contributes to our energy consumption,” said Meiners. “Joining STARS will show we are committed to sustainability.”

ETF has been pushing for water bottle filling systems on water fountains to make carrying water bottles more convenient and have been strong supporters of the Zip Car plan, which will bring a fleet of hybrid cars to campus for students to use.

The Zip Cars will reduce the need for students to have cars with them on campus, and will therefore reduce the amount of fuel used by the cars at SLU.

There is a push to buy rain barrels to collect perception to be used in place of fresh water in the school’s sprinkler system.

Reusing rainwater would drastically cut down the University’s water consumption. There has also been a lot of concern recently regarding the recycling system at SLU.

“I still hear rumors about recycling bins in dorms not being taken to recycling,” said Meiners. “This scares me a bit.”

Meiners also stressed the need for outdoor recycling bins and more attention from Housing and Residence Life. Due to budget cuts, Residence Life’s commitment to sustainability has dropped to the bottom of their priorities.

The low grade comes as a surprise to some, as SLU has recently been putting a lot of effort in to the campus’s new Sustainability Center and sustainability masters program.

According to the Sustainability Center website, SLU is the first Jesuit institution with a center for sustainability and the only Midwestern university to offer a masters program focused entirely on sustainability.

A lot of the sustainability efforts SLU has implemented take place behind the scenes, like with maintenance procedures and extensive efforts by the dining facilities, including plans for composting and commitment to using local produce.

The University is working with engineering students to develop a solar charging station for golf carts and is looking to set up several competitions to encourage students to take an active role in sustainability efforts.

SLU is participating in “RecycleMania,” which will promote recycling on campus and is setting up a contest in the Village Apartments to reduce the amount of electricity used by the residents. SLU has also installed “vending misers” on vending machines, which will conserve the amount of energy they consume when no one is using them.

Additionally, the University is evaluating the impact their vendors have on the environment in order to choose more sustainable options and is working on setting up a drive to recycle electronics.