The 91探花 again has been ranked among the coolest schools in America, placing fourth this year.
Sierra Magazine, the official publication of the Sierra Club, once again placed the 91探花 in the top echelon in the country for its initiatives to operate sustainably and limit its contributions to global warming. This is the fifth year the 91探花has been among the top-ranked schools; it was first last year.
The complete list of 鈥渃ool schools鈥� is available at .
Schools were ranked on a variety of factors provided through an in-depth survey, which includes questions regarding energy consumption, transportation, waste, investments and student engagement. The award includes all three 91探花campuses.
鈥淵ear after year, the 91探花 is a top-ranked institution for sustainability, which is only fair considering the emphasis placed on this by faculty, staff and students,鈥� says 91探花President Michael Young. 鈥淭his is something of which we are very proud. We continue to break new ground and to broaden our efforts to treat our corner of the planet with respect, in the ways we live and work, but also in the breadth and intensity of our research and teaching.鈥�
The university established a formal policy on environmental stewardship and has developed an ambitious Climate Action Plan, a document laying out the broad strategies the 91探花will use to become climate neutral.聽 The 91探花is a founding member of the Seattle Climate Partnership and is a charter signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. 聽The university鈥檚 Environmental Stewardship Committee is supported by the , which has created a dashboard as a means of measuring the university鈥檚 progress toward its environmental goals.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a place that values curiosity, which uncovers problems and discovers solutions,鈥� explains Sandra Archibald, dean of the UW鈥檚 Evans School of Public Affairs and chair of the university鈥檚 Environmental Stewardship Committee. 鈥淎nd, even though sustainability is a very tough topic, we鈥檝e approached it with wonderful multi-generational learning and lots of civil and constructive conversation. I think that鈥檚 very hard for government or industry to do.鈥�
Adds Ruth Johnston, who facilitates the Environmental Stewardship Committee and runs the UW鈥檚 Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Office while serving as Associate Vice President in Finance & Facilities: 鈥淲ith sustainability, we鈥檙e investing in improvements to human lives, both at the university and beyond it. It鈥檚 definitely retrofitting our green buildings and empowering students to make environmental change on campus, but it鈥檚 also educating people everywhere. Most importantly, though, we鈥檙e trying to create a better quality of life for today and tomorrow.鈥�
To help reach that goal, the 91探花is a participant in the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid project, and it鈥檚 installing meters and equipment to measure energy consumption at two residence halls, where students will be developing demonstration projects, and two academic or research buildings. The $9.6 million project also will allow the 91探花to standardize and modernize the campus building energy management infrastructure by upgrading electrical building meters to smart meters in as many as 200 buildings. These building systems will be tied together to provide a common platform for managing energy consumption.
The 91探花implements wide-ranging energy conservation projects and 91探花Housing & Food Services emphasizes local organic and natural foods.聽 The university has committed to build all state-funded, federal stimulus-funded, and specific client goal-directed new construction and major renovation projects to at least Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver standards. There are now 19 LEED-certified buildings at the UW, with an additional 17 LEED-certified projects planned over the next five years.聽 The university encourages the community to use alternative transportation through 鈥� 91探花Zimride,鈥� a social-networking ride-sharing program, and also with its transportation fleet, in which half of the vehicles use alternative fuel or are hybrid, electric or biodiesel powered.
UW鈥檚 Environmental Stewardship Committee fosters collaboration with students, faculty and staff playing an integral role with guiding the university鈥檚 sustainability goals. Students are leaders in campus sustainability efforts. They have created a Campus Sustainability Fund, a student-led green fee that funds projects. The fund has allocated $600,000 to various projects, including the , a , a bio-swale, and a series of .
鈥淪ustainability is an essential part of our core value structure as an institution, and it helps define our depth and breadth,鈥� says V鈥橢lla Warren, senior vice president at the 91探花and treasurer for the Board of Regents. 鈥淥nly a university like this could tackle a real-world challenge as complex and nuanced as the environment.鈥�