Case Western Reserve is dedicated to reducing its environmental footprint and, to guide this process, the university drafted a Climate Action Plan in May 2011 and set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Annually, CWRU’s Office for Sustainability submits data through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education‘s STARS rating system for comparison against other institutes of higher education.
In the 2015 Sierra Club’s Cool Schools list, Case Western Reserve’s ranking jumped 10 spots, after seeing a 15-point increase. In this ninth annual Cool Schools ranking, CWRU stands at No. 65 out of 153 schools with a score of 628.08.
The university’s many champions have worked to conserve energy, increase local food purchases and reduce waste—all areas in which CWRU showed improvement, according to the Cool Schools evaluation. Scoring was based on self-reported data, using the STARS tool, with information collected from offices around campus by the Office for Sustainability, including facilities; dining services; facilities and grounds; campus planning, design and construction; the registrar; institutional research, wellness and more.
Of particular note, CWRU’s Bon Appetit Management Co. restaurants made large percentage gains in purchasing locally grown and produced food over the last year, spending nearly $2 million in the local food economy, nearly 40 percent of their annual purchases.
Stephanie Corbett, director of sustainability, noted that “while we have long way to go to achieve climate neutrality and other long-term sustainability goals, the incremental progress CWRU is making year to year to reduce energy consumption, purchase locally and improve recycling takes many student, faculty and staff champions and will win the race.”
The full 2015 Cool School rankings are available online.