The Best and Worst Green Colleges of 2009
GreenReportCard.org just released its annual report card for how sustainable college campuses are. They compared the greenness of 332 schools. No one received a solid A, while 26 scored an A-, and about half the schools received at least a B-. More than half the schools received a higher grade than they had in previous reports, showing forward momentum on the part of colleges to become more sustainable, with 13 percent receiving a lesser grade.
GreenReportCard.org grades the colleges on the following criteria:
- Administration
- Climate change and energy
- Food and recycling
- Green buildings
- Student involvement
- Transportation
- Endowment transparency
- Investment priorities
- Shareholder engagement
The 26 Overall College Sustainability Leaders, or the Greenest Colleges, all scoring an A-, are:
University of California – San Diego
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
The 14 Overall College Sustainability Losers, or the Least Green Colleges, all scoring an D-, are:
Southern New Hampshire University
An astonishing fact regarding food on campus: Eighty-three percent schools in the report acquire food from local farms and/or producers, while two-thirds have a community garden on campus. Fair trade coffee and food items are available 91 percent of the campuse. Furthermore, 55 percent have a food waste composting programs and 68 percent have reduced their energy and food waste by eliminating cafeteria trays.
via GreenReportCard.org and Environmental Leader.com