Berea College is the greenest school in Kentucky, according to College Sustainability Report Card
The College Sustainability Report Card, the only independent evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, independently surveyed and graded 322 schools in nine categories related to sustainability.
Berea equaled last year's grade by earning a "B+" with an "A" in five of the categories evaluated, including: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food and Recycling, Green Building and Student Involvement. Recent and ongoing sustainability initiatives at the college include renovating historic Boone Tavern Hotel & Restaurant (the first LEED certified hotel in Kentucky) and recycling, water conservation and promoting local food initiatives by student groups.
The report cites several factors for Berea's grade, including:
- Berea aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 10 percent from 2008 levels by 2015. The college has cut building energy consumption in half since 2005 through numerous measures.
- Dining services spends more than 10 percent of its food budget on local products, including meat and vegetables from an on-campus farm.
- Berea applies ecological design principles to all redesign and renovation projects.
- The Ecovillage at Berea is home to about 100 students interested in sustainability, and the Sustainability and Environmental Studies House, which is largely self-reliant for energy, water and waste treatment, houses eight students who develop educational programs for the community.
- The college transportation fleet includes six hybrids and twelve electric vehicles.
- The department of sustainability and environmental studies aims to incorporate sustainability into Berea's physical plant, operations and curriculum.
Now in its fifth edition The College Sustainability Report Card, produced by Sustainable Endowments Institute, evaluates 300 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada with the largest endowments plus 22 schools that applied for inclusion.
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