Just in time for Earth Day, the College of the Holy Cross was named one of the 322 Green Colleges according to The Princeton Review, being one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada in 2014. The schools chosen for inclusion in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition” demonstrate “a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation,” according to their website.
The Princeton Review highlights Holy Cross because it is on the path to achieving its goal of being carbon neutral by the year 2040. With new construction following strict green building policies, both Figge Hall and the Integrated Science Complex have achieved LEED Gold certification, and the campus works to decrease its carbon footprint through projects like growing fruit and vegetables in community gardens or “slow food” dinners at Kimball.
The highlights continue: “Renewable energy initiatives on campus include a partnership with TransCanada, a renewable energy supplier [who] has reduced the school’s carbon foot-print 28 percent.” The guide also mentions faculty, staff, and student’s green involvement through groups like Presidential Task Force on the Environment and “internships and projects working with environmental organizations and not-for profit groups throughout the Worcester area,” as well as student participation on campus “through Holy Cross’s environmental studies program, and student-run environmental groups like Eco-Action.”
The Princeton Review created its “Guide to 322 Green Colleges” in partnership with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council.
- Read more about sustainability at Holy Cross
- Read “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition”
This “Holy Cross in the New” item by Evangelia Stefanakos ’14.
