{"id":34072,"date":"2019-08-29T15:10:21","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T19:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=34072"},"modified":"2021-05-20T21:01:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T01:01:36","slug":"report-highlights-the-most-sustainable-colleges-and-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/report-highlights-the-most-sustainable-colleges-and-universities\/","title":{"rendered":"Report Highlights the Most Sustainable Colleges and Universities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recently released its annual Sustainable Campus Index<\/a> report, recognizing some of the world\u2019s most sustainable colleges and universities. 
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Topping AASHE\u2019s list with \u201cplatinum\u201d ratings are Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Stanford University, UC Irvine, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Colorado State University (CSU). 
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Following closely behind, as the leading \u201cgold\u201d-rated schools, are the University of Connecticut, UC Merced, Colby College and Universit\u00e9 Laval in Quebec City. 
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To complete its report, AAHSE relied on colleges and universities to self-report their sustainability data and efforts through a framework called STARS<\/a> (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System). From there, each school was given an overall sustainability score. 
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In total, 503 higher education institutions in 12 countries — including 47 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces — submitted STARS reports within the time frame to be considered for the 2019 Sustainable Campus Index. Of those schools, 297 were from the United States. 
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When broken down by type, doctoral institutions — schools like Stanford, UC Irvine, UNH and CSU — scored the highest, presumably because they have the resources to establish large sustainability departments.
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And although there were significantly more U.S. schools listed in the report, Canadian schools scored the best, on average.   
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Ranking schools in different areas of sustainability <\/strong>
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In addition to receiving an overall score, each participating college and university was given separate scores based on how they fared in 17 different sustainable impact areas, such as energy, coordination and planning, water, waste and research — just to name a few.
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The report lists the top 10 schools within each sustainable impact area, and describes some of their most innovative projects, programs and initiatives. 
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Boston College <\/strong>
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Boston College, for example, is recognized by the report for its long-standing College Bound<\/a> program. The program is offered to a diverse group of seventh through 12th graders from Boston city public and charter schools, and through its Hydroponics and Social Justice track, students learn how to grow vegetables with hydroponic and solar systems. After, the students have the opportunity to sell the vegetables at local farmers markets. 
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Bowdoin College<\/strong>
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The report highlighted the efforts of Bowdoin College — a leading performer in the air and climate and public engagement impact categories — for collaborating with other New England colleges to develop the largest solar installation<\/a> in New England. 
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Butler University <\/strong>
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Butler is recognized in the report for partnering with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to develop a commercial food waste compost pickup route<\/a>. By later partnering with government stakeholders and non-profits, the two schools were able to grow the program, city-wide. Now, there are four Indianapolis institutions involved, and 4,000 to 6,000 pounds of food waste are composted each week, according to the report. 
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California State University, Northridge<\/strong>
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California State University, Northridge — one of the top performers in the water impact category — is highlighted in the report for recently building the first LEED Platinum sustainability center<\/a> in the California State University system. According to the report, the building emits zero net energy, uses greywater irrigation, has onsite stormwater management and three composting toilets, and is furnished almost entirely with reclaimed furniture. And to help pay for the building, CSUN students taxed themselves with a special fee. 
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