New Analysis Grades Sustainability Reporting of Nation's 50 Top Liberal Arts Colleges

Williams, Bucknell, and Amherst lead the pack according to Roberts Environmental Center

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Mar 02, 2010, 11:00 ET

CLAREMONT, Calif., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Roberts Environmental Center (REC) at Claremont McKenna College (CMC) today released an analysis of sustainability reporting for the Top 50 U.S. liberal arts colleges. The report contains a compilation of Pacific Sustainability Index (PSI) scores evaluating the environmental and social reporting of these colleges. PSI scoring is based on the transparency, intent, and performance for both environmental and social issues.

The top ten in overall sustainability are:

1.	Williams College	6.	Bard College
2.	Bucknell University	7.	Haverford College
3.	Amherst College	8.	Wellesley College
4.	Colorado College	9.	Mount Holyoke College
5.	Gettysburg College	10.	Oberlin College

Using the Top 50 liberal arts colleges according to U.S. News and World Report in 2009, the research for the report is based entirely on material released on the college's web sites. This is the REC's second report on College and University sustainability reporting. The first, in 2007, evaluated only a few institutions because, at that time, sustainability issues were not widely reported on college and university web sites.

"In just three years there has been a revolution in terms of addressing sustainability issues," said J. Emil Morhardt, Roberts Professor of Environmental Biology and director of the Roberts Environmental Center at CMC. "So many colleges and universities are now reporting on sustainability that we decided to produce separate reports, one for liberal arts colleges and one for American universities."

The report's ranking was created by REC analysts evaluating each college's web site using the PSI and sector specific questions. The index uses a systematic questionnaire to assess the quality of sustainability reporting and is divided into environmental and social categories that contain three types of information: intent, reporting, and performance.

In addition to specific numeric values, colleges were also assigned grades on a curve, giving an A+ to the highest scoring colleges and those with scores near it. The lowest schools on the list, such as Occidental College, Scripps College and the U.S. Naval Academy, received D and D minuses.

To view the complete report, visit: www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/LiberalArtsColleges2010.pdf

About Roberts Environmental Center

The Roberts Environmental Center is an environmental research institute at Claremont McKenna College located in Claremont, Calif. Its mission is to provide students with a comprehensive and realistic understanding of today's environmental issues and the ways in which these issues are being and can be resolved, beyond the confines of traditional academic disciplines and curriculum. The Center strives to identify, publicize, and encourage policies and practices that achieve economic and social goals in the most environmentally benign and protective manner.

About Claremont McKenna College

Claremont McKenna College, established in 1946, is among the highest-ranked and most selective liberal arts colleges in the nation. CMC excels in preparing students for leadership through the liberal arts in business, the professions, and public affairs. The College is home to more than 130 accomplished teacher-scholars who are dedicated to teaching and to offering unparalleled opportunities for student collaboration in the research process. Enrolling approximately 1,200 students in 2009, CMC launched the Robert Day Scholars Program and added a Master of Arts in Finance degree. CMC combines highly-selective admission, need-blind financial aid, innovative programs, a 9-to-1 student-faculty ratio, ten research institutes, the impact of the seven-member Claremont College Consortium, and a strong and committed network of alumni, to educate its graduates for a lifetime of leadership.

SOURCE Claremont McKenna College