By Lautaro Grinspan, News Staff
Northeastern can add a new superlative to its list of accolades and recognitions. Last month, the GreenMetric 2013 World Rankings, compiled by the Universitas Indonesia, came out, and listed Northeastern as the “greenest” school in America and third in the world, trailing only the University of Nottingham in England and University College Cork National University of Ireland.
According to a press release from GreenMetric, 301 universities hailing from over 60 countries took part in this year’s competition. Northeastern was one of 50 American universities ranked. Contributing to universities’ total scores were points earned in six main categories: energy and climate change, setting and infrastructure, water usage, waste management, education and transportation. Northeastern earned a total of 7,170 points.
The GreenMetric rankings, which were first released in 2010, constitute an initiative to encourage university leaders worldwide to adopt environmentally-friendly practices at their respective institutions. The Indonesian team behind the rankings also intends for their creation to draw more attention to key environmental issues like energy and water conservation, global climate change, green transportation and waste recycling while simultaneously rewarding the schools who are leading the eco-friendly way.
Northeastern’s number one ranking this year did not go unnoticed among administration’s highest echelons.
“Northeastern’s official colors are red and black but we are also very green,” President Joseph E. Aoun said in an e-mailed statement. “Our community has worked hard to make sustainability a core value — both in our research and here on campus.”
Sustainability Program Manager Carol Rosskam also voiced her sense of pride.
“We work very hard everyday to make our campus even ‘greener’ and it’s always good to see it being recognized,” she said.
A quick glance into Northeastern’s ongoing sustainability efforts shows its top three international ranking was no fluke. Two buildings on the main campus, Dockser Hall and International Village (INV), have achieved LEED Gold certification, which is awarded to buildings who complete a series of “green” requirements. INV is also the first university dining hall in the US to earn a LEED Gold status and a 3-star certified Green Restaurant distinction.
As far as recycling is concerned, Northeastern is no slouch. According to the school’s website, Northeastern recycles 295 tons of corrugated cardboard, more than 255 tons of paper, 58 tons of computers and electronics and 71 tons of bottles and cans a year. In total, 38 percent of the school’s waste is recycled. Northeastern also currently has eco-friendly initiatives in place in the areas of transportation, landscaping, energy conservation and green purchasing.
At the proverbial helm of Northeastern’s sustainability crusade, though, is Dining Services. Besides having the ubiquitous composting-bins students are all too-familiar-with (which, as part of the “Compost Here” Program, help compost approximately 660 tons of food waste a year, according to the school’s website), the department is also active in waste reduction, uses energy and water efficient equipment and employs only local produce unadulterated with antibiotics or added hormones.
The GreenMetric rankings, though an appropriate mark of the school’s green efforts thus far, weren’t received with overwhelming jubilation all around, however. Northeastern’s pro-environment student organization, Husky Environmental Action Team (HEAT), for one, urged the school not to rest on its laurels, and offered a stark reminder that there remains much to be done.
HEAT President Mara Scallon, a middler environmental science major, said her organization would be happt with the rankings announcement if more tangible results on campus could be seen.
“Rankings like these allow Northeastern to market itself as a ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ school even though there may be many more opportunities for improvement,” she said, “HEAT would like to see the university really challenge itself to be more sustainable.”
Although Scallon identified many areas of potential improvement, one that stuck out was education, or the importance of making members of the Northeastern community aware of the sustainability initiatives currently going on. For instance, as Scallon put it, “It is meaningless for the university to install energy-efficient appliances if students do not understand why this is a necessary thing to do. Educating the Northeastern community needs to include discussions about behavioral changes that can happen at the individual and institutional levels,” she said.
Another hot topic for HEAT is the importance of divesting from the fossil fuel industry. In particular, the club is grieved by the fact that a portion of Northeastern’s endowment is currently invested in the fossil fuel industry, either directly or through commingled funds.
“Northeastern cannot claim to be a sustainable institution dedicated to addressing the impacts of climate change if it continues to invest in the industry whose very existence is accelerating the rate of climate change,” Scallon said.
To voice its opinion on the matter, HEAT formed a subcommittee called DivestNU, which is calling on the administration to limit its investments in the industry.
“Northeastern should not see this ranking as an end point in its journey towards institutional sustainability but instead should reevaluate the work being done on campus and strive to make more changes,” Scallon said.
