UH named one of nation’s greenest schools

Texas A&M also listed

Steve Hawley, Apr 28, 10.

The Princeton Review has listed the University of Houston as one of the 286 most environmentally friendly colleges in the United States, according to the Houston Business Journal. Texas A&M, in College Station, and Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, were the other two Texas schools that made the list.

The Business Journal reports:

[T]he guide looks at an institution’s commitment to building certification using USGBC’s LEED green building certification program, environmental literacy programs, formal sustainability committees, use of renewable energy resources, and recycling and conservation programs.

“Students and their parents are becoming more and more interested in learning about and attending colleges and universities that practice, teach and support environmental responsibility,” said Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher of The Princeton Review. “According to our recent College Hope & Worries Survey, 64 percent of college applicants and their parents said having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would impact their decision to apply to or attend it.”

The University of Houston has taken steps to improve recycling and encourage more environmentally-friendly commutes, and it is working on a plan to reduce the university’s greenhouse gas emissions. It has also formed a campus sustainability task force comprised of students, faculty, staff, and administrators. By 2020, university officials aim to rely on transit for 10 percent of all trips. METRO’s proposed University Line would ultimately connect the University of Houston to most of the city’s major activity centers.

The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges