Green College Spotlight: Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY

Binghamton University was recognized by the Princeton Review as one of 11 colleges in America that reached the highest score possible, 99, on their new ‘green rating’ system.  It’s a well-deserved honor – Binghamton hasn’t just put sustainability initiatives at the top of their priorities on campus, they’ve also dedicated themselves to researching some of the planet’s most pressing challenges, from green technology to the proper management of precious natural resources.

Binghamton University – officially known as the State University of New York at Binghamton, or SUNY Binghamton – has adopted a wide variety of green programs and projects that encompass all aspects of campus operations, from implementing ‘Operation Green Space’, which transformed over 80,000 acres of paved areas to green space, to its Energy Management System (EMS) which monitors the school’s energy use.

The campus has gotten greener and greener every year, with students and faculty coming together to reduce energy consumption, conserve water, recycle as much as possible, cut down on unnecessary waste and use as much organic and local produce as possible throughout the year. Food waste is composted, a solar hot-water system is being installed and the campus is equipped with low-flow toilets and aerated faucets.  Electric motorcars and bikes are seen all over campus, parking meters are solar/battery powered and janitorial staff uses non-toxic cleaners.

Students have also participated in energy conservation contests, including one between residential halls in which the winning community, Dickinson, offered one-hour ‘blackouts’ and encouraged students to unplug electronic devices not in use. Other efforts include a student bus system, Move Out Week in which food and clothing are donated to charity, Zero Waste Earth Day, America Recycles Day and regular recycle ‘Blitz’ days.  This year’s energy savings was estimated at about 650,00 pounds of carbon.

Several of SUNY Binghamton’s buildings also received LEED certification including Mountainview’s Cascade and Windham Halls.  Green features in and around the buildings include water-efficient landscaping, use of local and regional materials, use of low-emitting materials, storm water management and indoor pollution controls.

Binghamton also offers more than 40 environment and sustainability courses each year, many of which are taught at the university’s 12,500-square-foot greenhouse. The E.W. Heier Teaching & Research Greenhouses functions as a living laboratory for the University’s plant and ecology related courses.  It holds over 6,000 exotic plants, representing over 1,200 distinct species.  Other ‘green’ research conducted at Binghamton University include sensor systems related to environmental technologies, the natural features and human effects on watersheds and alternative energy technology.

One of the things we might see coming out of Binghamton sometime soon is the world’s first affordable fuel cell car.  Right now, professor of chemistry Chuan-Jian Zhong is the lead researcher in a project that aims to lower the cost of manufacturing fuel cells, something that could be a huge breakthrough in the green auto industry.  We’re sure lots of fresh green ideas are going to be coming out of this school, and the world will be better off for it.

Link [Binghamton University]

More Info for College Students: Princeton Review Adding Sustainability Ratings to their College Rankings

The jury’s still out on whether college ratings provided by outlets like Newsweek and the U.S. News and World Report are actually helpful to students and their families. There have been a lot of questions about some of the statistics used to rank schools, and some colleges have been known to intentionally skew data to rank higher.

One way that these college rankings can be helpful to college students, however, is getting a feel for a school’s eco-friendliness via The Princeton Review’s new sustainability ratings. Beginning this year, you’ll be able to see a school’s ‘green rating’ in The Princeton Review’s annual college rankings.

From the Maneater:

The Princeton Review spokeswoman Harriet Brand said the “green rating” measures how well schools are using their environmental practices to deliver a better campus experience and to prepare students to succeed in their future careers.

The rating criteria includes how environmentally responsible a school’s policies are, whether students have a quality of life on campus that is both healthy and sustainable and how well a school is preparing its students for employment and for citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges.

The data for the rating is based entirely on the 2007-2008 academic year.

Adding a rating like this to widely read rankings from the Princeton Review, which many prospective students and parents take very seriously, could be a great thing for the future of green practices in colleges. It could introduce a little competition into the sustainability practices at the schools highlighted in the issue. Students win, the environment wins – sounds good to us.

Link [The Maneater]

Photo credit: Flickr user katmere

College Students: Pick Schools According to their Eco-Friendly Practices

College students, you’ve now got a great new tool at your disposal: a website that can help you choose a sustainable school. You may be wondering what exactly makes a school ‘sustainable’, and why you’d be interested in that information. The Daily Green has it:

Colleges can be as large as small cities, and therefore use a tremendous amount of resources, plus they have strong potential to mold the minds of the next generation of leaders.

In 2007 Grist released an editorial ranking of top green colleges, and this year the Kentucky-based Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education launched a pilot program to rate 90 U.S. and Canadian colleges on environmental impact.

It’s called Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), and is designed to be a voluntary, self-reporting framework for gauging progress toward sustainability. It is associated with the group’s Chill Out Competition to reduce global warming contributions, and the comment period ends May 30.

Until that ranking becomes available, prospies may want to check out this informative post on the blog of major student loan lender NextStudent. It’s a summary of 12 of the greenest colleges in America, including many that have been honored in the past by other groups

Among the top sustainable colleges are College of the Altantic, Middlebury College, Evergreen State College, Oberlin College, Harvard University and Warren Wilson College. Highlights of their eco-friendly practices include solar panels, energy efficiency programs, waste reduction, composting and organic farming. If you’re interested in a ‘green collar’ career or just want to be part of an institution that promotes earth friendly initiatives, this info could be really helpful.

Link [Daily Green] + [NextStudent]

Photo credit: Warren Wilson College