This year has been hard for everyone, and schools are no exception. For colleges and universities across the world but especially in the U.S., it didn’t feel like there was a right answer to educating during an unprecedented global pandemic.
Beyond navigating in-person education, virtual education or a mix of both, universities and colleges that committed to sustainable practices were forced to backtrack. Single-use, disposable items, like takeout containers and plastic bags, were suddenly necessary on campuses that phased out those items for green alternatives long ago.
For the past 14 years, Sierra Club, one of the largest grassroots environmental organizations in the U.S., has ranked universities and colleges according to their environmental commitments. Although 2020 was different, the list continues with 20 of the greenest schools.
“Despite setbacks, the schools on this list have shown incredible resourcefulness as they have innovated new ways to maintain—and in many cases, further—their sustainability objectives,” said the Sierra Club.
Four out of the top 5 schools on the 2020 list are located on the West Coast of the U.S. The University of California, Irvine sits at No. 1, with Stanford University a close second, Arizona State University ranked fourth, and University of California, Merced ranked fifth. Last year’s top-performing school, Thompson Rivers University—located in British Columbia—ranked third this year.
This is the 11th year in a row the University of California, Irvine has ranked in the top 10 most sustainable colleges.
“Thanks to precision-technology sensors and software, UC Irvine's laboratories have become paragons of energy efficiency, emulated by national labs, including the CDC. Relatedly, infectious disease doctors have been studying UCI's ventilation systems, designed to remove airborne pathogens in labs,” according to Sierra, the official magazine of the Sierra Club.
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Rank
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School
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Notable Green Initiative
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2
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Stanford University (California)
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- Heat-recovery technology uses recycled water to heat buildings
- The new School of Sustainability is dedicated to the acceleration of climate solutions
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3
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Thompson Rivers University (British Columbia)
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- All new students must take the Citizenship Institutional Learning Outcome course, which applies socially responsible, sustainable and ethical principles to everyday actions
- Launched a Single-Use Item Elimination Task Force
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4
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Arizona State University (Arizona)
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- Next month, will plant 1,000 native trees in its carbon sink forest
- Broke ground on the “Global Futures Laboratory,” an interdisciplinary hub to study and urgently address issues of climate crisis adaptation and mitigation
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5
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University of California, Merced (California)
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- Will achieve carbon neutrality this year—five years ahead of schedule
- Green Labs and Green Offices certification programs put the university close to its zero-waste goal
- Graduate-level Management of Innovation, Sustainability, and Technology program focuses on management strategies that prioritize long-term eco-sustainability
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6
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SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (New York)
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- The new NYS Center for Sustainable Materials Management will see faculty, staff, students and other partners manage a statewide waste reduction, reuse and recycling campaign, while working to develop superior biodegradable plastics
- Students have spearheaded a drive to eliminate all single-use plastics from campus by the end of 2020
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7
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Colorado State University (Colorado)
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- Created Ph.D. program for Ecosystem Sustainability, and added a Corporate Sustainability component to its MBA program
- The Horticulture Center Living Lab is now robust enough to provide greens for all six campus dining centers
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8
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University of Connecticut (Connecticut)
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- In response to student demands, UConn moved its carbon-neutrality goal from 2050 to 2040 and will phase out reliance on its on-campus natural gas facility in favor of energy from renewable sources
- Requirement of a new environmental literacy general education course
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9
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University of New Hampshire (New Hampshire)
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- The new B-Impact Clinic trains students in the methodology of B-Corp certification and matches them with local companies seeking to improve their social and environmental performance
- One of a handful of campuses tackling its nitrogen footprint, in order to protect water and air quality, as well as mitigate climate change
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10
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Colby College (Maine)
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- Built a 35-acre athletic center on native meadows whose plants were selected for their ability to attract pollinators and restore biodiversity
- When the campus shut down in March, Colby kept dining-service staffers employed and tasked them with tending to the campus organic garden, where they've harvested nearly 2,200 pounds of produce
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To view the full Top 20 list with additional information, read the original article on the Sierra Club website.
Photo: Solar panels on top of Braiden Hall on the campus of Colorado State University, which ranked No. 7 on the 2020 list of greenest colleges and universities. Credit: CSU