Green college -- A range of efforts throughout the campus community helped SUNY Oswego repeat an environmentally friendly designation, appearing in the 10th edition of “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 413 Green Colleges.” Events like the Office of Sustainability’s pop-up thrift shop in October are examples of ongoing initiatives large and small that distinguish campus-wide activities.
SUNY Oswego was again recognized among the nation's most environmentally responsible colleges by the Princeton Review education services company.
The company recognized Oswego in the 10th edition of its publication, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 413 Green Colleges.”
"SUNY Oswego is one college absolutely overflowing with sustainability,” the guide notes. As an early signer of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, “the upstate New York green stronghold combines a rich institutional commitment to the environment with a thriving student enthusiasm towards sustainable endeavors.”
The guide also cited the college's Climate Action Plan, use of green cleaning products, sustainability research, multiple student groups working on and advocating for environmental solutions, the minor program of study in sustainability, several cross-departmental courses such as environmental chemistry and environmental economics, and its policy of LEED (U.S. Green Building Council standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver at a minimum for any new construction, with most newer construction certified at the Gold level.
The college’s Office of Sustainability coordinates many activities to raise awareness and support green initiatives, including a Sustainability Week in October that included a pop-up thrift store, information tables and interactive events.
The Princeton Review singles out the value of SUNY Oswego's biological field station, located about a mile south of the main campus on Thompson Road. "Sustainability-related research is encouraged by Rice Creek Field Station, a unit that invites student proposals and is dedicated to the support of academic instruction, research, and public service in all aspects of natural history," the report notes.
The college has added initiatives such as recommendations by the President's Advisory Group on Sustainability in Dining Centers, implemented to greatly reduce plastics in campus eateries, coupled with increased education on making environmentally friendly choices for eating and drinking.
The company chose Oswego and the other schools for its "green guide" based on data from a survey of hundreds of four-year colleges concerning the schools' commitments to the environment and sustainability. More than 25 data points were weighted in the tallies for Princeton Review's Green Rating scores.
"These schools are standouts for their exemplary commitments to sustainability," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. All the listed colleges "are, each in their own ways, outstanding institutions for students seeking to study and live at a green college," he added.
For more information on SUNY Oswego's leadership in sustainability, visit oswego.edu/sustainability.
For more information on the guide, visit the Princeton Review Green Colleges website.
Pop-up thrift stores and other initiatives by the Sustainability Office and its interns are among the many reasons SUNY Oswego repeated an environmental honor, appearing in the 10th edition of “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 413 Green Colleges.”