CSU Tops List of Most Sustainable Colleges

PHILADELPHIA — BestColleges.com, using data from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) based in Philadelphia, revealed the 50 “greenest” U.S. colleges and universities. Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colo., was ranked No. 1.

The AASHE recognizes colleges and universities that have achieved the greatest level of success with green initiatives on-campus and within their surrounding communities. The association gauges these efforts using the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), a voluntary system that allows different colleges and universities to report trends and track their sustainability efforts. Four different STARS ratings ― platinum, gold, silver and bronze ― may be awarded to various establishments, companies and organizations across the country.

The list from BestColleges.com names the 50 U.S. colleges and universities that have earned the highest STARS ratings. The list is to spotlight the schools that have launched the most impactful initiatives to reduce on-campus waste and energy consumption, promote alternative transportation, provide funding to student- and faculty-led green proposals, and take other measures to benefit the environment. BestColleges.com notes that AASHE does not rank institutions but recognizes that STARS data may contribute to rankings done by other organizations.

CSU, according to BestColleges.com, is the greenest higher-learning institution in the nation. BestColleges.com noted that it is the first school in the world to earn Platinum in the STARS rating system. Colorado State also leads the nation in sustainability best practices. CSU’s campus is home to the first solar-heated/air-conditioned on-campus building. The university worked with NASA to develop a cloud-profiling radar system, CloudState, which monitors climate change and provides CSU students with research opportunities concerning its own energy usages.

The CSU campus offers programs in ecosystem science, sustainability, alternative fuels, conservation and others. Academic areas at CSU that address environmental sustainability are offered in all eight of the university’s colleges and span across programs in engineering, natural resources, forestry, public policy, environmental ethics, global and sustainable business, atmospheric science, soil and crop sciences, construction management, and many other programs. In 2014, the Warner College of Natural Resources at CSU launched a Master of Greenhouse Gas Management and Accounting program, the first of its kind in the nation.

In terms of eco-friendly practices, BestColleges.com emphasized that sustainability-related research is conducted in more than 90 percent of the academic departments at CSU. The university also offers more than 900 credit courses online and on campus that include sustainability content and an additional non-credit continuing education courses.