IU must sustain sustainability efforts

Sometimes all that is needed to get things done is a wake-up call.

The IU administration recieved such a call last week when the College Sustainability Report Card ranked IU last in the Big Ten alongside Northwestern in terms of campus sustainability efforts.

Embarrassing as this proclamation is, we think it is exactly what the administration needs to finally make our sustainability intentions a reality.

We think the IU’s improvment by an entire letter grade from last year’s disappointing “D” is encouraging, but we need to improve even more.
The report outlined several areas in which the University could improve its operations, including shareholder engagement and transportation.

Even though we applaud the efforts of Michael Hamburger, Paul Sullivan and the IU Sustainability Task Force, we think they can only do so much without proper funding.

One of the central needs outlined in the Campus Sustainability Report is the need for an office of sustainability. Such a permanent body could oversee sustainability operations and make plans for long-term sustainability commitments.

The University has committed $251,000 to making the sustainability efforts more permanent. Salaries for staff, office expenses and compensation for six academic-year interns and 15 summer interns will all be covered under a proposal approved by IU President Michael McRobbie, but we still think the university could go further.

The proposal only establishes an interim director of campus sustainability, not a permanent position. This will not aid IU’s effort at finding a qualified person to lead our sustainability efforts. If we are to see sizeable improvements in sustainability, the administration must be willing to create and fund a permanent office of sustainability.

We say kudos to the Sustainability Task Force for helping IU go green so quickly, but we are not willing to settle for a “C+.” If IU is going to make real steps toward a more eco-friendly future, we must first start by putting our money where our mouths are.

We need to make sure we are sustaining our own sustainability efforts.