The three baccalaureate colleges that scored highest in the 2017 Sustainable Campus Index were all in Vermont. The index, published by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, recognizes top-performing colleges and universities in 17 distinct aspects of sustainability and over all. The association’s report on the index highlights such environmental efforts as the identification of sustainability-related courses in Humboldt State University’s course catalog and the University of Cincinnati’s construction of a groundwater observatory.
Doctoral institutions
| 1. | Stanford U. | 85.7 | 86.9% | 94.4% | 97.6% | 94.3% | 47.4% | 64.7% | 47.3% |
| 2. | Colorado State U. | 85.6 | 94.4% | 100.0% | 98.8% | 97.6% | 53.0% | 31.2% | 36.6% |
| 3. | Laval U. (Quebec) | 82.5 | 84.3% | 100.0% | 93.7% | 80.3% | 40.6% | 38.2% | 25.0% |
| 4. | U. of Connecticut | 81.3 | 81.1% | 100.0% | 98.8% | 95.5% | 45.1% | 36.7% | 53.5% |
| 5. | Arizona State U. | 81.1 | 83.8% | 94.0% | 95.2% | 94.4% | 39.4% | 53.4% | 35.3% |
| 6. | U. of Washington | 77.4 | 77.0% | 79.7% | 100.0% | 71.1% | 46.8% | 4.0% | 70.3% |
| 7. | U. of Victoria (British Columbia) | 76.8 | 75.0% | 88.6% | 94.1% | 65.5% | 38.8% | 33.8% | 56.5% |
| 8. | U. of Calgary (Alberta) | 76.2 | 74.1% | 100.0% | 96.4% | 82.0% | 56.3% | 34.1% | 36.4% |
| 9. | American U. | 75.4 | 62.9% | 88.4% | 90.3% | 86.2% | 59.4% | 58.7% | 28.3% |
| 10. | U. of British Columbia | 75.0 | 62.7% | 82.3% | 100.0% | 80.6% | 48.8% | 12.8% | 58.7% |
| | Average scores for all 131 participating doctoral institutions | 59.4 | 58.9% | 76.1% | 74.0% | 67.3% | 34.8% | 26.5% | 28.7% |
Master’s institutions
| 1. | Appalachian State U. | 77.2 | 95.6% | 88.9% | 100.0% | 76.2% | 59.4% | 30.5% | 22.0% |
| 2. | Santa Clara U. | 76.2 | 88.3% | 94.4% | 92.9% | 85.0% | 30.1% | 55.2% | 37.6% |
| 3. | Chatham U. | 75.8 | 84.2% | 88.9% | 96.3% | 86.1% | 36.0% | 41.4% | 51.3% |
| 4. | Bentley U. | 72.6 | 75.8% | 88.6% | 89.7% | 75.9% | 12.5% | 50.3% | 14.3% |
| 5. | California State U. at Sacramento | 72.2 | 79.2% | 88.9% | 100.0% | 68.7% | 59.4% | 21.5% | 16.9% |
| 6. | Thompson Rivers U. (British Columbia) | 71.6 | 86.2% | 86.6% | 65.9% | 77.9% | 43.9% | 20.6% | 29.1% |
| 7. | Grand Valley State U. | 69.5 | 58.2% | 84.4% | 92.9% | 67.8% | 39.6% | 34.3% | 26.3% |
| 8. | Seattle U. | 69.4 | 70.9% | 80.8% | 76.5% | 83.5% | 29.5% | 32.4% | 29.6% |
| 9. | Belmont U. | 69.4 | 79.9% | 94.4% | 100.0% | 64.0% | 52.3% | 46.6% | 36.3% |
| 10. | California State U. at Northridge | 69.3 | 79.4% | 59.7% | 99.5% | 54.1% | 40.6% | 45.6% | 30.3% |
| 10. | Humboldt State U. | 69.3 | 77.9% | 67.9% | 75.9% | 71.9% | 27.6% | 23.9% | 33.0% |
| | Average scores for all 74 participating master’s institutions | 53.2 | 57.0% | 62.2% | 69.1% | 56.5% | 32.1% | 26.4% | 26.3% |
Baccalaureate institutions
| 1. | Sterling College | 78.3 | 94.6% | 93.8% | 92.9% | 89.8% | 10.8% | 62.9% | 87.3% |
| 2. | Middlebury College | 77.6 | 74.5% | 93.8% | 75.0% | 84.7% | 35.1% | 41.7% | 29.7% |
| 3. | Green Mountain College | 76.4 | 99.5% | 83.3% | 80.2% | 58.3% | 39.8% | 40.2% | 41.3% |
| 4. | Colby College | 75.7 | 78.7% | 88.9% | 100.0% | 84.0% | 24.9% | 50.8% | 25.7% |
| 5. | Dickinson College | 74.2 | 76.5% | 98.4% | 85.0% | 78.0% | 57.9% | 36.4% | 35.6% |
| 6. | Oberlin College | 73.1 | 65.9% | 66.9% | 85.0% | 85.0% | 55.4% | 54.5% | 51.9% |
| 7. | U. of Minnesota at Morris | 70.8 | 68.2% | 96.3% | 100.0% | 65.5% | 60.3% | 32.8% | 25.1% |
| 8. | Furman U. | 69.3 | 88.2% | 88.9% | 100.0% | 79.2% | 25.9% | 57.7% | 25.7% |
| 9. | Lewis & Clark College | 68.6 | 62.6% | 62.1% | 56.6% | 88.3% | 43.5% | 60.5% | 43.5% |
| 10. | Pomona College | 68.3 | 63.3% | 76.9% | 88.2% | 70.3% | 53.9% | 11.9% | 28.6% |
| | Average scores for all 74 participating baccalaureate institutions | 55.9 | 57.9% | 68.2% | 70.9% | 64.1% | 27.3% | 36.0% | 29.3% |
Associate institutions
| 1. | Nova Scotia Community College | 73.2 | 79.3% | 75.0% | 86.6% | 76.2% | 62.3% | 39.5% | 15.6% |
| 2. | Kankakee Community College (Ill.) | 67.9 | 77.2% | — | 99.1% | 71.4% | 30.6% | 33.4% | 28.6% |
| 3. | Portland Community College (Ore.) | 62.0 | 56.1% | — | 91.7% | 43.4% | 55.3% | 57.2% | 25.0% |
| 4. | Mohawk College (Ontario) | 57.6 | 57.9% | 93.8% | 75.0% | 40.9% | 43.5% | 26.1% | 14.3% |
| 5. | Fleming College (Ontario) | 56.2 | 77.0% | — | 57.1% | 72.2% | 6.3% | 33.7% | 27.3% |
| 6. | Central Carolina Community College (N.C.) | 54.1 | 62.7% | — | 47.2% | 58.3% | 38.8% | 26.9% | 60.0% |
| 7. | Raritan Valley Community College (N.J.) | 52.4 | 44.0% | — | 64.4% | 50.6% | 26.3% | 34.0% | 23.3% |
| 8. | College of Lake County (Ill.) | 52.2 | 69.4% | — | 63.6% | 61.6% | 38.5% | 30.8% | 25.0% |
| 9. | Western Technical College (Wis.) | 52.1 | 49.8% | — | 47.3% | 58.4% | 52.5% | 52.1% | 20.6% |
| 10. | Niagara College Canada (Ontario) | 50.5 | 59.1% | 71.8% | 85.0% | 40.9% | 0.0% | 8.5% | 0.0% |
| | Average scores for all 24 participating associate institutions | 46.9 | 51.1% | 72.1% | 54.9% | 49.1% | 30.2% | 28.1% | 19.6% |
All U.S. institutions
Average scores for 267 U.S. institutions
| 56.3 | 57.5% | 70.4% | 70.8% | 63.1% | 32.2% | 29.6% | 27.3% |
Note: Institutions’ performance was measured by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, known as Stars. The 303 colleges and universities considered for these rankings submitted a valid Stars Version 2 report between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017. Of those institutions, 267 were in the United States, 32 in Canada, and four in other countries. Institutions’ overall score is a number out of 100. The percentages for subcategories are based on the number of points earned versus the number available in that subcategory. Scores were rounded, but institutions were ranked before rounding. Not all 267 U.S. institutions were measured in each subcategory; colleges without dining facilities, for instance, could opt out of “food and dining.” A dash indicates that an institution was not measured in a particular subcategory. A full report on the rankings can be viewed on the association’s website. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Source: 2017 Sustainable Campus Index, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education