For the fourth straight year, Gustavus Adolphus College has been recognized for its commitment to sustainability by The Princeton Review. The nationally-known education services company selected Gustavus for inclusion in its free downloadable book, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013 Edition.”
The book profiles 322 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada with an outstanding commitment to environmental awareness, sustainable practices, and integrating sustainability into classes, curricula, certificates, and degrees. The book does not rank schools on a hierarchical list, but rather focuses on colleges that are leading by example.
Schools are chosen based on a Green Rating score that takes into account several criteria including the percentage of food expenditures that goes toward local, organic, or otherwise environmentally preferable food, whether the school has a formal committee with participation from students that is devoted to advancing sustainability on campus, the school’s overall waste-diversion rate, whether the school has an environmental studies major, minor, or concentration, whether new buildings on campus are required to be certified LEED silver, what percentage of the school’s energy consumption is derived from renewable sources, whether the school employs a dedicated full-time sustainability officer, and others.
More than 800 schools received a green rating in the summer of 2012. The 322 schools featured in the 2013 edition received scores of 83 or above.
In the book’s profile about Gustavus, The Princeton Review noted several “green highlights” including the existence of the Linnaeus Arboretum, the Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation, and the Kitchen Cabinet committee. The profile also noted the College’s strong institutional commitment to recycling and strong academic programs in both environmental studies and biology.
The “Guide to 322 Green Colleges” is produced through a partnership between The Princeton Review and the U.S. Green Building Council, a national nonprofit organization best-known for developing the LEED green building rating system.
The entire “Guide to 322 Green Colleges” is available online at princetonreview.com/green-guide.
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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510