UW News
April 22, 2010
UW among 15 ‘greenest’ colleges in Princeton Review rating
Just in time for Earth Day, the UW has been rated one of the 15 “greenest” colleges in the country by Princeton Review.
The rating, which appears in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges, ranked schools based on 10 data points:
- The percentage of food expenditures going toward local organic or environmentally preferable food.
- The presence of programs offering transportation alternatives to single occupancy vehicles.
- Having a campus committee with student participation devoted to advancing sustainability.
- Whether new buildings are required to be LEED Silver certified.
- The school’s overall waste diversion rate.
- Whether the school has an environmental studies major, minor or concentration.
- Whether the school has an “environmental literacy” requirement.
- 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.
- The percentage of school’s energy consumption derived from renewable resources.
- Whether the school employs a dedicated fulltime sustainability officer.
A total of 697 colleges and universities were rated. A numerical score from 60 to 99 was assigned to each school, and only those schools achieving a score of 99 were named to Princeton’s “Green Rating Honor Roll.”
