Newswise — Clarkson University is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the United States and Canada, according to The Princeton Review.
The company selected Clarkson for inclusion in the just-released fifth annual edition of its free, downloadable book, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 332 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition."
Clarkson has a number of convention-defying environmental initiatives, including an innovative and integrated greenhouse to grow vegetables in cold climates, coupled with an anaerobic digester to convert food waste to energy; and a renewable energy heating system consisting of a wood pellet boiler and a solar thermal panel.
It has smart housing residences where electricity and water use are monitored along with indoor air quality. Information is provided to the residents to help them make better choices on resource use. Clarkson also has two sustainability minors: sustainable energy systems engineering and sustainable solutions for the developing world.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, Clarkson has also adopted green building policies, such as a commitment to meeting at least LEED Silver criteria on all current and future construction. Its Technology Advancement Center has achieved LEED Gold certification and its Student Center has achieved LEED Silver.
Clarkson is also a signatory of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.
Clarkson’s Institute for a Sustainable Environment sponsors workshops, seminars, and a small grants program, as well as undergraduate- and graduate-level research experiences on a variety of projects around renewable energy, clean water, and air quality.
Director of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment Philip K. Hopke, along with Associate Director of Sustainability Susan E. Powers, the Spence Professor in Sustainable Environmental Systems, help build sustainable practices into every aspect of campus life.
“In the past several years, we have done a number of projects that have improved our sustainability through student, staff and faculty initiated projects such as eliminating old energy wasting refrigerators and high-flow shower heads,” says Hopke. "It is gratifying to see these efforts recognized by the Princeton Review and we can expect increased recognition going forward as our campus-wide efforts are recognized and we move to fulfill the commitments made in the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. We look forward to continually improving our campus sustainability and using those opportunities to educate Clarkson students to be leaders in sustainable innovation and entrepreneurism.”
Created by the Princeton Review in partnership with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, the guide is the only free, comprehensive guidebook profiling institutions of higher education that demonstrate a notable commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The Princeton Review chose the schools for the guide based on a survey it conducted in 2013 of administrators at hundreds of four-year colleges to measure the schools' commitment to the environment and to sustainability.
Published on April 17, just a few days prior to the April 22 celebration of Earth Day, the guide has profiles of the colleges that provide application information plus facts, stats, and write-ups reporting on the schools' environmentally related policies, practices and academic offerings.
The free guide can be downloaded at http://www.princetonreview.com/green-guide .
"We are pleased to recommend Clarkson University to the many students seeking colleges that practice and promote environmentally-responsible choices and practices," says Robert Franek, senior VP/publisher of the Princeton Review.
Franek noted his company's recent survey findings indicating significant interest among college applicants in attending "green" colleges. "Among 10,116 college applicants who participated in our 2014 'College Hopes & Worries Survey,' 61 percent said having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school," he says.
Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world’s pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and the health professions, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.
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