Officials at Ball State University say they were surprised by the grade the university received from the Sustainable Endowments Institute's annual report.
So shocked, in fact, that Robert Koester, director of Center for Energy Research/Education/Service, has set up an appointment with the company later in the week to review the score.
The College Sustainability Report Card 2010 was released Wednesday. It surveyed and graded more than 300 colleges on their efforts to encourage sustainability and a green environment.
Ball State's overall score dropped from a B- to a C+ in this year's report.
Of the nine categories studied, Ball State's grade dropped in three of them and increased in one. The other five stayed consistent with last year's evaluation. Transportation improved from a C in 2009 to a B in 2010.
Sue Weller, director of facilities business services and transportation, said the university only purchased flex-fuel vehicles, which run on biodiesel fuel, within the past year. More than 60 percent of campus vehicles now run on biodiesel, and that percentage will continue to increase, she said.
"We are always looking for newer, cleaner burning technology," Weller said. "We're constantly looking for the next best thing."
Ball State is working on a plan to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent in the next five to seven years, according to the report card.
Jim Lowe, director of engineering and operations, said initiatives such as the geothermal project and energy-efficient construction projects will help the school achieve this goal.
Ball State requires all new construction and renovation projects to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified. When Kinghorn Hall, the L.A. Pittenger Student Center and the Student Recreation and Wellness Facility are completed, they will apply for the certification, Lowe said.
It is the progress of projects like these that make the declining score confusing, he added.
"I would have thought [the grade] would have strengthened," Lowe said.
Susan Paykin, communications fellow at the Sustainable Endowments Institute, said Tuesday that works in progress don't have as much of an effect on the survey results.
"We generally don't include projects still under construction in the report since they're not actively running yet," she said.
Lowe and Koester said they are interested to find out more about why Ball State received the score it did.
"Once we have that feedback, then we'll have our feet back on the ground," Koester said. "We've got to be willing to learn from it to stay in the running with national trends."
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