Goucher was named one of the nation’s top 21 colleges and universities for its environmentally related practices, policies, and academic offerings. The Princeton Review’s annual guide included “Green Ratings” of colleges and universities: a measure of how environmentally friendly the institutions are on a scale of 60 to 99. Goucher’s score of 99—the highest given—won it a place on the annual college guide’s Green Honor Roll.
The Princeton Review tallied the Green Rating scores based on data it obtained in 2011-2012 from the colleges in response to a survey that included questions on energy use, recycling, food, buildings, and transportation, as well as academic offerings and action plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The guide used this data to rate 806 institutions based on whether the schools’ students have a campus quality of life that is healthy and sustainable, how well the schools are preparing students for employment and citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges, and the schools’ overall commitment to environmental issues. These scores are part of the profiles of the schools included on The Princeton Review’s website and in The Best 377 Colleges and The Complete Book of Colleges.
In its review in the college guide, Goucher is called a small liberal arts college that is “establishing itself as a capital of sustainability.” The review highlighted Goucher’s completion of a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and its institutional action plan to become climate neutral.
The college was praised for its policy requiring that all new buildings and renovations of existing ones be certified at least at the Silver level under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green-Building Rating System. Particular attention was given to Goucher’s Athenaeum, the campus’s first LEED Gold-certified building.
The Goucher Environmental Sustainability Advisory Council’s efforts in helping the college fulfill its requirements under the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment were also mentioned. The group advises the president and administration on environmental issues and policies raised by members of the Goucher community.
To see Goucher’s profile in The Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll, click here.
Media Contact
Kristen Pinheiro
Media Relations Director
kristen.pinheiro@goucher.edu
410-337-6316