The Princeton Review released its 2014 Guide to 332 Green Colleges in partnership with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council in which it urges students to look at more than just academics in selecting their future homes.
“You should really focus on finding a college that suits your academic goals as well as some personal pursuits,” the guide advises students. The ratings are designed to assist those who place a high priority on a school’s commitment to the environment.
In assessing a school to determine how green it is, the Princeton Review says it looks at 10 major factors, including food expenditures, mass transit programs, formal commitment to sustainability, and whether school buildings that were constructed or underwent major renovations in the past three years are
LEED-certified.
The Princeton Review does not formally rank green schools, but rather includes all schools that achieved scores in the 80s and 90s on its survey.
Emphasis is placed not on where a school ranks in terms of which school is the greenest, but rather on whether the school is making a concerted effort to “include green buildings as a part of their campus master plans—new ones or retrofits to the ones that already exist—are decreasing their carbon footprints, saving energy, saving water, reducing waste and saving money,” as explained in material accompanying the guide.
The full report can be found at http://centerforgreenschools.org/PrinRevGdGreenCols_2014Edn.pdf.
