LEED-Gold Johnson Hall of Science

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10/12/09

St. Lawrence Named 'Campus Sustainability Leader'

CANTON - St. Lawrence University has been named a Campus Sustainability Leader by the Sustainable Endowments Institute in its 2010 College Sustainability Report Card, one of just 80 schools to achieve the designation.

The University maintained its B grade in the report from the independent organization. Now in its fourth year, the College Sustainability Report Card covers the colleges and universities with the 300 largest endowments in the United States and Canada, as well as 32 additional schools that applied for inclusion. More than one-half of schools earned an overall grade of B- or better (53 percent, or 176 schools). The cumulative grade distribution is as follows: 8 percent of schools earned cumulative A-level grades; 45 percent earned B-level grades; 34 percent earned C-level grades; and 13 percent earned D-level grades.

Campus Sustainability Leaders were determined from schools that received an average grade of A- or better for initiatives having to do with the physical campus and its operations.

Among St. Lawrence initiatives contributing to its high evaluation:

- The Board of Trustees' resolution making environmental sustainability a core value of the University.
- Completion of carbon-emission inventories dating to 2000, along with a commitment to reduce those levels.
- The University annually offsets 15 percent of its electricity use through renewable energy credits.
- Adherence to a local food policy that resulted in spending approximately $60,000 on locally grown food during the 2008-2009 academic year.
- Dining facilities are "trayless" and used cooking oil serves as fuel at the University's heating plant.
- Certification of the Johnson Hall of Science as a LEED Gold facility.
- Numerous student initiatives, including the Green House residence hall; an educational program called Sustainability 101; and the creation of the Re-Use Cellar thrift store by the Environmental Action Organization.
- The Green Bikes bicycle-loan program operated through the University library and the addition of five hybrid vehicles to the fleet.

Each school's full-page profile can be found on the GreenReportCard.org Web site and includes A to F letter grades in nine categories: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, Green Building, Student Involvement, Transportation, Endowment Transparency, Investment Priorities and Shareholder Engagement. Also on the site, for the first time this year, are 1,100 sustainability survey responses about campus, dining and student initiatives, as well as endowment investment.

The College Sustainability Report Card 2010 is published as part of the Institute's broader effort to encourage discussion on sustainability in higher education. The Sustainable Endowments Institute is a Cambridge-based nonprofit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices.

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