Union has again been named one of the country’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review’s “Guide to Green Colleges.”
Schools were chosen based on data collected from hundreds of four-year colleges on their sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. Only schools with a Green Rating of 80 or higher were included in the guide.
Union is noted for its Presidential Green Grants program, the U-Sustain committee, the expansion of the composting program to all resident dining facilities and retail dining locations in the Reamer Campus Center, and improving options for local, organic, vegan and vegetarian dining.
Last spring, the College completed construction of its cogeneration plant, which is expected to dramatically reduce the College’s carbon footprint. The combined heat and power plant allows for the simultaneous production of electricity to power most of Union’s 130-acre campus. The plant also recycles waste heat to produce heat and chilled water that can be used to provide dehumidification year-round, a critical need in buildings like Schaffer Library and laboratories with sensitive equipment.
“We strongly recommend Union and the other fine colleges in this guide to the many environmentally-minded students who seek to study and live at green colleges,” said Robert Franek, senior vice president/publisher of The Princeton Review.
The free 160-page guide is downloadable here.
Union has been included among the nation’s greenest colleges since the first guide was published in 2010.
Sustainability is one of the key priorities of the College’s Strategic Plan.
In 2007, President Stephen C. Ainlay was among the first to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), pledging to formally work on reducing, and eventually eliminating, campus greenhouse gas emissions.