Nine Hoosier colleges and universities have been named to The Princeton Review’s annual list of the nation’s most environmentally responsible.

Ball State University was the only Indiana campus to be ranked in the top 50. DePauw University, Earlham College, Indiana State University, Indiana University, IUPUI, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame were all named to the list as well.

Everything from each school’s use of renewable energy, to recycling and conservation programs, to the availability of environmental studies and career guidance for green jobs is taken into consideration for the rankings.

Princeton Review compiles all the information into a guide along with admission requirements, cost, financial aid opportunities and statistics and facts for prospective students. The free guide is downloadable at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide.

“Among nearly 10,000 teens who participated in our ‘2015 College Hopes and Worries Survey,’ 61 percent told us that having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the college,” stated Robert Franek, senior VP-publisher for The Princeton Review. “We strongly recommend the schools in this guide to environmentally-minded students who seek to study and live at green colleges.”

Out of the top 50 colleges, 98 percent have a sustainability officer and sustainability committee, 96 percent offer an undergraduate major or degree that is focused on sustainability, 81 percent of all new campus construction is USGBC LEED certified and a total of 33 percent of the schools’ food expenditures go toward local and/or organic foods.

The top 15 schools on the list are:
Lewis & Clark College, Oregon
Green Mountain College, Vermont
University of California, Santa Barbara
State University of New York-Stony Brook University
Dickinson College, Pennsylvania
Cornell University, New York
American University, Washington, D.C.
College of Atlantic, Maine
Middlebury College, Vermont
University of Vermont
Portland State University, Oregon
Colorado State University
Willamette University, Oregon
University of Washington
Pomona College, California

Source: Inside Indiana Business