For the past 3 years the Sierra Club, one of the largest environmental organizations in the world, has put together a “Cool Schools” list of the top eco-friendly universities in America, and it has been published in the organization’s Sierra magazine. These schools represent the best in green energy efficiency, waste management and food operations.
According to Princeton Review survey statistics on the SierraClub.org website, “two-thirds of university applicants say that a school’s environmental report card would influence whether they’d enroll.” A green campus is definitely a factor in the college application process, so the universities on this list offer both academics and environmentalism in their curriculum.
The Sierra Club Questionnaire
So, how did the Sierra Club calculate its Cool Schools list? Members of the organization sent emails to the sustainability directors of hundreds of schools with questions in these categories:
- Efficiency
- Energy
- Food
- Academics
- Purchasing
- Transportation
- Waste management
- Administration
Using the above criteria, schools could get 10 points for each category. In the end, the schools closest to the perfect 100 score would make the list.
Here are the top 10 eco-friendly universities:
- University of Colorado at Boulder
- University of Washington at Seattle
- Middlebury College
- University of Vermont
- College of the Atlantic
- Evergreen State College
- University of California at Santa Cruz
- University of California at Berkeley
- University of California at Los Angeles
- Oberlin College
You can see the entire Sierra Club Cool Schools list of 135 universities here.
The Cool Schools list is a great way to inform the public about green universities across America, and hopefully it will encourage students to become involved in the green movement. We hope that the Sierra Club keeps up the great work!
