For the ninth straight year, Union has 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.
The profiles in the guide include information about each school's admission requirements, cost and financial aid, and student body statistics. They also include "Green Facts" about the schools with details on the availability of transportation alternatives and the percentage of the food budgets spent on local/organic.
Union achieved a Green Rating of 93. The College was cited for its Presidential Green Grants program, the U-Sustain committee, and the expansion of the composting program to all resident dining facilities and retail dining locations in the Reamer Campus Center, among other initiatives.
“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 guide is available 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, Union was among the first to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), pledging to reduce the College's carbon footprint and provide research and education about climate change.