Sierra Club’s Coolest Schools – University of New Hampshire # 6

“Green” is a very hot word on college and university campuses – whether it’s energy efficiency, LEED®-certified dorms and buildings, food composting, or deep-green curriculum.

Two annual surveys of college and university campuses in the US (and selected Canadian institutions) identify who’s greenest and why. Both are online and free. Each has different parameters and methodology, and the findings sometimes differ substantially. There’s a huge amount of data that can be mined by sustainability professionals and educators on other campuses, K-12 schools, libraries and NGOs — as well as parents and teens.

Ten Coolest Schools Sierra Club

Released in September, Sierra Club’s 6^th Annual Review of Cool Schools results from an online survey with an extensive questionnaire that ranks the 96 greenest places to get a degree. (See the full list)

While ranking green features (energy, transit, food, water use),  Sierra Club aimed to find out how the greenest schools connect to their communities and use the idealism of young eco-activists to create new solutions. They call it “less dreaming, more tinkering.”

Who’s who in the Top Ten ? (1-10) University of California/Davis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Washington, University of Connecticut, University of New Hampshire, Duke University, Yale University, University of California/Irvine, and Appalachian State University. See the Top 10 slide show and video

The 3^rd Annual Edition of Princeton Review ‘s Guide to 322 Green Colleges 2012, published in conjunction with the US Green Building Council,  tallied green scores for 768 colleges and universities, then selected 322 in the US and Canada for the final cut. Unlike the Sierra Club, the Princeton version does not “rank” the schools, does not include student response to surveys or opinions, and focuses on just one aspect – “green living and learning.”

Princeton aims to identify schools with “notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation.” Each school is featured with a write-up on notable initiatives in environment and sustainability. (See the full list)