Green honor – SUNY Oswego recently earned recognition in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 361 Green Colleges,” honoring the most environmentally responsible colleges. The college’s recent construction—including the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation (pictured), as well as Rice Creek Field Station and the residential complex the Village—have all earned U.S. Green Building Council standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold recognition.
SUNY Oswego is rated among the nation’s top “green colleges” again this year by Princeton Review.
The Princeton Review educational services company recognized SUNY Oswego as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the seventh edition of its publication, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 361 Green Colleges.”
The guide noted the presence on campus of facilities for bicycle commuters (bike storage, showers and lockers) and campus shuttle and car sharing services. It adds that Oswego has a formal sustainability committee, a sustainability officer, a waste diversion rate of 19 percent and spends 13 percent of the college’s food budget on locally grown or organic products.
A charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, Oswego offers a minor in sustainability studies and has designed all new facilities since 2005 to meet U.S. Green Building Council standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Recent college construction, including the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation; Rice Creek Field Station; and the residential complex of buildings known as the Village all have achieved LEED Gold certification.
The Princeton Review selected colleges based on a survey conducted in 2015-16 of 640 four-year colleges to measure the schools’ commitment to the environment and to sustainability. The survey included questions on course offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation.
“Among more than 10,000 teens and parents who participated in our 2016 College Hopes &
Worries Survey, 61% told us that having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the college,” said Robert
Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior vice president and publisher. “We strongly recommend the schools in this guide to environmentally minded students who seek to study and live at green colleges.”
The free 160-page guide can be downloaded at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide.