Reported by Staff

Its football team continues to wallow in  mediocrity, subjecting Buffalo fans to another season of disappointment. Thankfully, however,  other achievements of the University of Colorado, Boulder are gaining national recognition of a different sort.

The latest honor – CU Boulder received the highest grade of any of the state’s colleges in a nationwide “report card” on sustainability practices on college campuses.

The “College Sustainability Report Card 2010″ was issued last week by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

332 colleges nationwide were appraised for their sustainability programs on campus, and CU Boulder was one of 26 U.S. schools to receive the sustainability report card’s highest grade, A-minus. It was also named an “Overall College Sustainability Leader.” Based on survey responses from school officials, the report evaluated colleges on a variety of factors, including energy use, recycling, “green” buildings practices, investment priorities and “shareholder engagement.”

“Coming on the heels of our ranking by Sierra magazine as the No. 1 green university in the nation, this ranking makes a strong case for CU-Boulder’s national leadership in sustainability,” CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano said in a statement. “When a university combines faculty, staff, student and administrative commitments to the environment, as we at CU-Boulder have for nearly six decades, the results are unprecedented.”

Both the University of Denver and Colorado College were given B-plus grades, and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs a B grade. Perhaps, surprisingly to some, Colorado State University, which has billed itself as the “Green University”  drew only an average grade, and Colorado School of Mines trailed with a rather dismal D-plus.

CU Boulder “has a revolving loan fund to support campus sustainability projects, and the university’s bike paths are linked to the city’s bike paths for easy eco-travel,” said a statement released with the report.

“Colleges are now taking pride in greener campuses and sustainability-savvy investments — increasingly important concerns for parents and students in choosing a school,” said Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

Click here for the College Sustainability Report Card.