The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges covers all the aforementioned aspects as well as countless others in its detailed report. The ranking is on a 60-99 scale; the colleges receiving above 80 being profiled in the report. The rankings were based on the green universities ability to excel in the following factors:
• Ability to provide students a healthy and sustainable quality of life
• Ability to prepare students for green jobs and responsible green citizenship
• How well the school used environmentally responsible policies
Colleges around the country are heeding the call of their eco friendly students and creating aspects of their college to turn it into a green university. Universities have the largest number of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings, outnumbering any other industry. Turning into a green campus includes recycling programs, green buildings, natural fuel for green transportation and serving natural foods at campus diners.
The green campuses that flourished the most under the Princeton Review’s guide received a score of 99 and are as follows:
1. Arizona State University (Tempe, Az)
2. Bates College (Lewiston, Maine)
3. The College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine)
4. Colorado College (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
5. Dickenson College (Carlisle, Pa)
6. The Evergreen State College (Olympia, Wash)
7. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga)
8. Harvard College (Cambridge, Mass)
9. Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vt)
10. Northeastern University (Boston, Mass)
The full 200-page report is available online at the Princeton Review site. Each review has the same categories so as to make the report fair. A sampling of the different data fields are as follows:
• Percentage of food budget spent on local/organic food
• Available transportation alternatives
• New construction must be LEED certified or comparable third-party rating system
• Waste diversion rate
• School provides guidance on green jobs
• Percentage of school grounds maintained organically
• Percentage of school energy from renewable resources
