A recent guest post talked about 5 primary and secondary schools that are noted for their “green” features. The Princeton Review has updated their list of the 311 institutions of higher learning that are going green. All but three of the schools are in the United States, with Canada making up the difference. To determine the list, schools had to “demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation.”
According to The Princeton Review, the guide, which consists of 220 pages, “is the only free, comprehensive, annually updated guide to green colleges.”
Here is the full list of the 311 schools. Individuals can download the guide from The Princeton Review’s website. However, in order to do so, one must sign up for an account prior to downloading the PDF.
The rankings do not include a top 10, but rather list schools alphabetically. There is no hierarchical listing of schools and no “greenest” institution. However, last year, 18 schools received the top score of 99 (many of which were mentioned on previous lists). This year’s list includes schools that scored 80 and above on The Princeton Review’s rating. See below for the criteria used to assess the schools’ sustainability measures.
Criteria For the Princeton Review Green Rating of Colleges
The Princeton Review tallies its Green Rating scores based on institutional data it obtains from the colleges in response to ten survey questions that asks:
1. The percentage of food expenditures that goes toward local, organic or otherwise environmentally preferable food.
2. Whether the school offers programs including free bus passes, universal access transit passes, bike sharing/renting, car sharing, carpool parking, vanpooling or guaranteed rides home to encourage alternatives to single-passenger automobile use for students.
3. Whether the school has a formal committee with participation from students that is devoted to advancing sustainability on campus.
4. Whether new buildings are required to be certified LEED Silver.
5. The school’s overall waste diversion rate.
6. Whether the school has an environmental studies major, minor or concentration.
7. Whether the school has an “environmental literacy” requirement.
8. Whether the school has produced a publicly available greenhouse gas emissions inventory and adopted a climate action plan consistent with 80 percent greenhouse gas reductions by 2050 targets.
9. What percentage of the school’s energy consumption, including heating/cooling and electrical, is derived from renewable sources (this definition included “green tags” but not nuclear or large scale hydropower).
10. Whether the school employs a dedicated full-time (or full-time equivalent) sustainability officer.
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