MSU should learn from sustainability grade

Many of us are familiar with the feeling of giving our parents our report cards. Timidly handing over our grades, watching anxiously and waiting for approval of our hard work — or lack thereof.

So with the recent news MSU received a B in sustainability from the Sustainable Endowments Institute in their 2010 college sustainability report card, we can’t help but feel like a parent — satisfied, but always encouraging their child to strive for the best.

Although a B is nothing to scoff at, it clearly shows that MSU’s students and faculty can do more. Simply being “adequate,” “on par” or “not bad” aren’t things we should be shooting for, especially in the area of sustainability, which is supposed to be one of MSU’s major goals.

It’s important to realize that any organization that feels the need to “grade” other institutions on their performance in a certain area usually is trying to promote some kind of agenda. In the case of The Sustainable Endowments Institute, their agenda certainly is good, but MSU likely would never be given an A unless it met all of the standards set by this one organization. A cursory look at the grading guidelines easily could find an area of contention.

But regardless of whether we were awarded an F or an A, we constantly should strive to be the best in green initiatives. Our motto for Homecoming just last week was “we’ve always been green,” and our national TV commercials claim “we’ve been green from the beginning.”

Although it’s great that we are proud of this fact, it seems slightly embarrassing that we were outperformed by the University of Minnesota, another Big Ten school that doesn’t put nearly as much emphasis on green initiatives as MSU in its advertising.

We also can’t say we’re surprised at MSU’s F grade in shareholder engagement. The Sustainable Endowments Institute apparently was displeased that MSU has its shareholders vote on environmental, social and governmental issues — and so are we.

This appears to illustrate a much larger problem with MSU, namely that financial interests take priority over student interests or, in this case, green initiatives. But people who have a chance to make money won’t always think about how to efficiently stay “green” in the process, so the F grade comes as no surprise to us.

The grade should motivate us to improve, and should bring to light several of MSU’s recent sustainability efforts. This year alone, students have witnessed several new initiatives to promote and expand MSU’s recycling program, and there’s no shortage of student groups and events that promote going green.

This B grade should serve as a pat on the back for MSU, while also acting as a nudge to always do more. It’s easy for a third party such as the Sustainable Endowments Institute to grade us, and we are likely doing much more to stay sustainable than they say we are.

Like a good parent, we’re proud of MSU, but we also know that they have the skills necessary to be the best.

After all, if we boast that we’ve always been green, we should stay that way.