University Investment in "Green": How Much Should it Be?

Everywhere it seems colleges and universities are embracing the idea that they have an obligation to address the climate change crisis by going green with their energy and environmental practices.  After all, colleges and universities are where young people get educated and future leaders often develop.  Colleges and universities, therefore, play the unique role of educating future environmental leaders and that leadership begins with them developing sound environmental policies and practices.  The questions, however, is:  Are colleges and universities spending enough to go green and, if not, how much should they be spending?

To show their commitment to the green movement, "the student body at Western Washington University agreed to pay up to $10.50 a quarter to buy renewable electricity—becoming one of the first in the state to go 100 percent green on the main campus." Clearly, there are efforts underway to go green at least at Western Washington University, but is that enough "green" spending for colleges and universities? After all, perhaps the spending is misplaced. Going green is one thing, but knowing whether one's actions are considered green or not is a different matter entirely.

In particular, colleges and universities should also focus on spending that causes behavior change among their student body. For example, psychologists from the American Psychological Association report

As such, colleges and universities should also spend money on education campaigns to show that indeed students truly can make a difference through their various everyday actions such as installing compact fluorescent bulbs in their dorm room to riding public transportation instead of driving their car.

Part of the education campaign may be about developing a changing attitude among the student body, which can often be difficult to do. Social psychologist Jessica Nolan highlights the importance of changing attitudes in terms of how "She found that students are not particularly inclined to disapprove of the non-sustainable behavior of others." In essence, if one decides to drive a car instead of taking public transportation to and from the grocery store, it appears students may not care one way or the other about what their fellow peers are up to. This is quite an interesting finding and indicates perhaps schools should look into investing in media campaigns to get students to change their behavior.

The answer, therefore, is schools are not spending nearly enough in going "green" at least in terms of marketing, advertising, and changing public perception and attitude.  What campaigns work and which ones don't are up to schools to figure out through trial and error.  Nevertheless, going "green" begins with changing attitudes and perceptions.

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