VCU Featured in ‘The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges’

Virginia Commonwealth University’s dedication to sustainability is earning national accolades. This year, the university joins the latest edition of “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges,” a comprehensive guidebook profiling institutions of higher education that demonstrate a notable commitment to sustainability. Criteria for the rating are based on a healthy and sustainable quality of life, how well the school prepares students to face environmental challenges and the school's commitment to environmental issues.

“Sustainability is increasingly becoming an important criterion in seven of 10 college-bound students’ decision to apply to or attend a school and can be the differentiating factor in their decision-making process,” said Jacek Ghosh, VCU director of sustainability. “It is important for schools that actively pursue a comprehensive sustainability strategy to be recognized for their efforts.”

The Princeton Review created this guide for college-bound students in 2010 with the U.S. Green Building Council, which is best known for developing the LEED standard for green building certification.

"A green campus can transform the college experience for students through enhanced sustainability education and by creating healthy living and learning environments all while saving energy, water and money as part of an institution’s bottom line," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Schools were chosen based on a survey of administrators at hundreds of colleges across the United States and Canada.