News
October 22
When former University President Jean Mayer convened 22 university presidents and chancellors in Talloires, France in 1990, his goal was to enumerate the key actions universities had to take to ensure an environmentally sustainable future.
The result of the meeting was the Talloires Declaration, which spelled out a 10-point plan for the participating universities and established Tufts as an early leader of the sustainability movement. The first of its kind, the document has since been signed by more than 350 universities from over 40 countries, and Tufts continues its commitment to sustainability to this day. But Tufts is no longer the leader of the pack.
When the Sustainable Endowments Institute released its College Sustainability Report Cards this fall, 26 schools received grades of A-. These included Ivy League universities like Harvard and Brown, NESCAC rivals Middlebury, Amherst and Williams, state universities in Vermont and Colorado, among others, and small schools such as Macalester College in Minnesota. Tufts, however, was not among them. The Institute awarded Tufts a grade of B for its efforts, recognizing its commitment to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and food recycling. The Institute, however, was critical of several other aspects of the university's policies, especially its endowment transparency and its efforts to construct green buildings on campus. Tufts received a D and a C- in these categories, respectively.
"Tufts was the original leader in sustainability, but now we are being [passed] by schools like Harvard, because their endowment is more transparent," said senior Daniel Enking, Tufts Energy Forum co-chair.
Tufts, which makes its full list of financial holdings available only to trustees and senior administrators, earned a D in the endowment transparency category. Harvard, which makes detailed proxy voting records on social responsibility issues available to the public, received a C.
"I understand the university's desire to maximize their investment, but endowments should be about more than that," Enking said. "Increasingly, even corporations are migrating to more social responsibility, and Tufts should be doing the same by showing openly that we are not investing in companies like Exxon Mobil, who fund research to try and cast doubt on whether climate change is real."
Senior Heather Buckner, who is a member of Tufts Environmental Consciousness Outreach (ECO), echoed some of Enking's frustration with administrative practices. "I am not really surprised that Tufts did not receive an A grade," she said. "In terms of sustainable practices, Tufts is often a lot of talk, but could definitely be doing more. A lot of the problems with getting changes made has come from the administrative holdups; in ECO projects specifically, we have encountered roadblocks due to bureaucratic problems or unwillingness of branches of the university to participate."
Enking, however, was surprised that Tufts was not awarded a higher grade for its green building practices. "I don't know of many other schools that have buildings which meet the LEED Gold standard," he said. Enking also noted that Tufts received an award from energy provider National Grid for "Excellence in Energy Efficiency."
Only two buildings on campus meet the LEED Gold standard criteria, which measure green building and development practices. Though most university buildings have been retrofitted with energy saving features like low-flow toilets and showerheads and motion-sensitive lights, they were not designed with energy efficiency as a first priority. The Institute was also critical of Tufts' lack of a formal green building policy, which contributed to the C grade Tufts received.
Tufts, however, might not be drastically different from its peer institutions in terms of sustainability practices. While the average grade issued for most categories fell in the B range, the average grade issued for endowment transparency was a C-. Among area schools, only Amherst received an A in that category. Though several of Tufts' peer institutions received As or Bs in the Green Building category, the average grade awarded was a fairly low C+. Buckner acknowledged that the issues that Tufts faces are a "common problem."
Tufts did, however, exceed national averages in several categories, including Climate Change, Food and Recycling and Shareholder Engagement. Despite the complaints voiced by Buckner and Enking, the administration also received high marks for formalizing Tufts' sustainability plan and setting the standard for university procurement. Tufts plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75 to 85 percent by 2050, and the practice of composting all dining hall food drew acclaim as well.
Both Enking and Buckner voiced concerns that the student body as a whole was unaware of the issues at hand. "I definitely think each of us could be doing much more to improve sustainability, if not at the university level, at least in our individual choices," Buckner said. "I think one problem is that students don't often know how to get involved, or what they should be doing to make a difference."
"I get the feeling that the student body in general is not that concerned, or even aware, of everything Tufts is doing or trying to do to be more sustainable. There needs to be better outreach on the part of the Office of Sustainability to show students how urgent of an international issue this is, and how they can make difference," Enking said.
Both Enking and Buckner had ideas for improving student awareness and participation for sustainability efforts.
"Luckily, for students looking for ways to get involved with environmental action, there should be plenty of opportunity within the coming weeks," Buckner said. She cited ECO's annual "Do It in the Dark" contest, which encourages students to reduce their electricity consumption in dorms. Enking expressed hope that the upcoming Tufts Energy Conference would heighten the issue's profile. The conference, scheduled for next March, will include presentations from a variety of energy-related academics and professionals, and include panel discussions on the future of energy.
