IU ranked among greenest campuses

IU’s efforts to create a more sustainable campus are now recognized on an international level, as IU is ranked 45th in the world for campus sustainability, according to the GreenMetric World University Ranking System.

The University of Indonesia launched this ranking system in 2010 to identify and rank universities that are taking charge and leading their campuses toward more eco-friendly policies and conditions.

“We have never done an international ranking,” IU Office of Sustainability Director Bill Brown said. “It was a pleasant surprise to be in the top 50, since it was our first shot at it.”

The Office of Sustainability was invited to participate in the survey, and Alexandra Aznar, a School of Public and Environmental Affairs masters of public affairs student and intern at the Office of Sustainability, worked to compile the different sets of data required for each category.

“My job is detective work,” she said. “I had to find who could have the data, do they have it and, if they don’t, could we start a process to get it.” 

GreenMetrics ranked 215 participating universities by submitting their data on questions that ranked them on setting, infrastructure, energy, climate change, waste, water, transportation and education.

“We like these metrics because they give us a window into how people evaluate sustainability, how we’re doing, where we’re strong and where we have gaps,” Brown said.

In addition to ranking the entire institution, GreenMetrics ranks each university in the different areas of sustainability.

IU ranked No. 1 in water, which includes conservation and efficiency of water systems, but didn’t score as high in setting, infrastructure, energy and climate change, Aznar said.

IU gets most of its energy from coal and natural gases, so compared to other universities, such as those in California that use more sustainable energy resources, IU scored lower.

According to Victoria Getty, senior lecturer and director in the Department of Applied Health and Science, the University has made a lot of progress since its D+ rating in 2007 by the College Sustainability Report Card. IU sustainability is now rated at a B.

“One of the things that really made a difference is putting an Office of Sustainability with someone dedicated to working on sustainability,” she said. “IU made a big leap forward.”

In 2010, when Read Center decided to switch to trayless food services, Getty conducted a study to see the effects on food waste.

The switch proved beneficial. In one week, .81 ounces of food was saved per student.
That number seems small, but with almost one thousand students using the dinner services per day, an average of 225 pounds of food was saved in one week.

The trayless initiative in Read is just one example of IU’s efforts toward a more sustainable campus.

“The Office of Sustainability is working really hard and so are a lot of people on campus,” Aznar said.

Seeing this recognition motivates people, she added.

“Now that we’ve done the survey once, we could use it as a trend analysis piece to rise in ranking,” Brown said. “Also, part of our 2020 plan is to become an international leader in campus sustainability.”