Brandeis Recieves a B in Sustainability

The College Sustainability Report Card was released on October 27th and it successfully graded over 300 schools. Although last year the highest grade given was an A-, schools such as Brown and Pomona have upped their game, and now the highest grade received is an A. However Brandeis is still stuck on a B for the second year in a row. Check out our grade report on the College Sustainability Report Card website.

Two of the main reasons Brandeis still received a B are its Endowment Transparency and Shareholder Engagement, both of which received a C. Information about endowment holdings is kept away from the school community and the general public. The only information that is made available to the school community and the general public are asset allocation and cash. All other information concerning endowment holdings are kept between the trustees and senior administrators, plus some select individuals. This information includes but is not restricted to: the list of mutual funds, equity holdings, hedge fund holdings, and natural resource holdings — all of which are kept secret from the public.

Also, since 2009, Brandeis has gone from an A to a B in the Administration category; this could be an issue to look further into. However it is also important to note that Brandeis improved in the Climate Change and Energy category from last year, going from a B to an A.