UW-Eau Claire continues to be among most environmentally responsible colleges in U.S.

UW-Eau Claire is among the 455 colleges and universities in the U.S. and beyond that the well-known education services company includes in this year’s Guide to Green Colleges, which highlights schools that are committed to the environment and sustainability.

“UW-Eau Claire remains committed to our strategic goals and missions, one of which is to support sustainable campuses and climate action,” says Brian Drollinger, director of risk management, safety and sustainability at UW-Eau Claire.

The university continues to take “proactive steps” to help achieve its sustainability goals, Drollinger says. For example, it hired a sustainability specialist, and the campus now uses hydroponic farming, a type of agriculture that uses significantly less water.

“We plan to expand on our sustainability successes on campus with continued collaboration of students, faculty, staff and the community,” Drollinger says. “UW-Eau Claire is honored to be selected, once again, as a green college by the Princeton Review.”

To determine which colleges and universities to profile in the 2023 guide, the publishers surveyed administrators and students from 713 schools about their institutions' sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. It then created green rating scores for each school using 25 data points.

The guide includes information about universities’ uses of renewable energy, their recycling and conservation programs, the availability of environmental studies in their academic offerings and their career guidance for green jobs.

Each year, the Princeton Review publishes its guide in October to coincide with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s annual Campus Sustainability Month, an international celebration of sustainability in higher education.