NEW: 3 RI Colleges Make Princeton Review's 'Greenest' List

NEW: 3 RI Colleges Make Princeton Review's 'Greenest' List

In a new book from the Princeton Review ranking the most environmentally conscious colleges in the country, three Rhode Island schools have been deemed some of America’s “greenest.” Brown University, Roger Williams University, and the University of Rhode Island all made the list for their commitment to ecological sustainability in their infrastructure, activities, course offerings, and policies.

The book, called The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges, was released in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council on Tuesday in anticipation of Earth Day on April 22. The 2011 ranking marks the third consecutive year that the Princeton Review has published a Green Rating of colleges, and the Green Rating of each school is also included in the profile of each school in the guidebook The 376 Best Colleges.

What makes a college green?

The schools were ranked on a scale of 1-100 on ten categories, including percentage of food expenditures that go toward local and organic food, the school’s overall waste diversion rate, whether or not the school has an environmental studies major or minor, and percentage of the school's energy consumption that is derived from renewable resources. Any schools that scored a 60 or above were included in the book, and 16 colleges made the “green honor roll” for scoring 99, the highest score awarded to any school.

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"College-bound students are increasingly interested in sustainability issues," said Robert Franek, Senior VP/Publisher of The Princeton Review. "Among 7,445 college applicants who participated in our 2012 'College Hopes & Worries Survey,' nearly 7 out of 10 told us that having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school," he added. "Together with USGBC, we are pleased to make this free resource available to all students seeking to attend colleges that practice, teach and support environmentally-responsible choices.”

RI's green colleges

Because Brown, URI, and Roger Williams did not make the Green Honor Roll, their scores are not available online. However, in the book you can find profiles for each school, “Green Highlights” detailing each school’s most impressive environmentally friendly initiatives, and “Green Facts” for the schools reporting statistics and data about their use of renewable energy, recycling and conservation programs, green jobs career guidance, and more.

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