Green Rating Honor Roll

The Green Rating Honor Roll

Arizona State University at the Tempe campus 

At Arizona State University (ASU) sustainability is a fundamental precept underlying its teaching, learning, research, and business missions.

Established in 2007, ASU’s School of Sustainability, the first of its kind in the U.S., offers transdisciplinary degree programs that advance practical solutions to environmental, economic, and social challenges. The school has over 60 faculty representing over 40 disciplines and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs along with a professional certificate. ASU 101 became a required course for incoming freshman beginning in fall 2007; this course contains five modules, one of which is focused on sustainability.

Bates College (Lewiston, ME)

From the 28% of its food budget dedicated to local, natural, and organic purchases to the bicycles and cars they share to reduce pollution, environmental sustainability is part of Bates College's DNA. Former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Ed Muskie, a 1936 Bates graduate, authored landmark environmental legislation including the national Clean Air, Clean Water, and Resource Recovery Acts.

In the past year, Bates has opened two new major buildings, a student residence hall and dining commons, both built to LEED-Silver equivalence. Also last year, Bates became the first Maine institution to partner with Zipcar, securing two Toyota Priuses for car sharing by students, faculty, and staff. (Each Zipcar is estimated to reduce the need for 14 cars on campus.)

College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME)

Emory University (Atlanta, GA)

As part of Emory's Strategic Plan and its commitment to positive transformation in the world, sustainability was identified as a top priority of the university. Emory's vision is to develop a model for healthy living on campus that can translate to communities around the globe.

Sustainability initiatives at Emory include: building "green" with all new buildings constructed to LEED standards (with an emphasis on energy and water conservation), integrating sustainability into the curriculum (including the longest-running faculty development programs in sustainability in the country), promoting alternative transportation with a shuttle fleet that is 100% alternatively fueled; recycling Emory's waste stream (65% by 2015), and providing local and sustainably-grown food.

Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)

Harvard College (Cambridge, MA)

Harvard has the largest green campus organization in the world consisting of 24 full-time professional staff and 32 part-time student employees all working to assist the Harvard community in greening all areas of its campus.

Harvard has committed to a 30% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (below 2006 levels) by 2016.

It has established a $12 million revolving green campus loan fund to provide interest free loans to anyone at Harvard that has a green campus project with a payback of 10 years or less.
Since it’s inception in 2001, over $12 million has been lent out to fund 180 projects (lighting, HVAC, heating, cooling and ventilation, behavioral change, insulation, onsite renewable energy etc.).

State University of New York at Binghamton 

Nearly 70% of Binghamton University’s 900-acre campus is in its natural state. The core of this undeveloped land is officially designated the Nature Preserve, encompassing 182 acres of land which includes a 20 acre wetland. Binghamton uses this large, valuable resource for teaching and learning, research, ecology, arts, literature, and outdoor recreation.

Binghamton University's goal is to design, construct, operate, and maintain all new buildings following guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. Since 2004, Binghamton has obtained LEED certification on two buildings and is in the process of applying for LEED Silver certification for a recently constructed building.

University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH)

The University of New Hampshire’s University Office of Sustainability (UOS) is the oldest endowed sustainability program in higher education in the U.S.

In January 2009 UNH will become the first university in the U.S. to use landfill gas as its primary (80–85%) energy source. The project, called EcoLine, will lower energy costs, provide energy security, and reduce the UNH Durham campus's greenhouse gas emissions an estimated 57% below 1990 levels.

Responding to the need of farmers for scientific research to support organic dairy efforts, UNH is the first land grant university to have an organic dairy farm and education/research center.

University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)

The University of Oregon (UO) has been an international leader in sustainability for more than two decades, offering more than 200 sustainability related courses.

The law school's environmental and Natural Resources Program pioneered the nation's first academic curriculum in public interest environmental law. The business school has launched a Sustainable Supply Chain Management Center. The Associated Students of the University of Oregon spends ten percent of its annual $10 million budget on sustainability programs.

This fall the university will host the first ever sustainability conference for Oregon's public universities, and UO annually hosts two international student conferences on sustainability.

University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

The University of Washington (UW) is a signatory of the Presidents Climate Commitment, which is a pledge to develop policies and practices that are climate neutral. As part of that commitment all new campus buildings will meet at least the LEED Silver standard.

The UW is a founding member of the Seattle Climate partnership, which requires the university to purchase power that is 100 renewable and also requires extensive measures of energy conservation.

The UW's food services emphasize local organic foods and are working toward a zero-waste goal, composting postconsumer waste, and offering compostable dishware and to-go packaging.

Yale University (New Haven, CT)

Yale University is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent below 1990 levels. It has achieved a 17 percent reduction in the first two years of its effort. Yale is using solar, wind, and geothermal energy produced on campus to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Yale has one co-generation power plant and is building a second to maximize fuel efficiency. Energy conservation measures include setting thermostats higher in summer and lower in winter, using biofuels in vehicles, and giving incentives to employees to live near campus or carpool. The new home of Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, a leader in green research and education, is a landmark in sustainable design.