10 Environmentally Friendly College Campuses

Discover colleges that are committed to conservation

For college hopefuls who are passionate about the environment, an institution’s policies on sustainability may be a major factor they consider during their school search. While some colleges take small steps toward creating a greener campus, others put it at the core of their mission. The following 14 colleges and universities have focused on reducing their negative environmental impact through different initiatives, such as pledging to reduce carbon emissions, limiting food waste or mandating environmental literacy courses.

Arizona State University–Tempe

Arizona State University launched a “Carbon Project” in June 2018, which involves mitigating its carbon emissions using a variety of approaches such as planting trees in nearby cities and creating the Carbon Sink and Learning Forest, a living laboratory for faculty and students. ASU has also been working toward more sustainable commuting, and in 2022 met its goal of reducing single-occupancy vehicle travel to below 60% for students, faculty and staff.

Bowdoin College (ME)

Sustainability is a core value at Bowdoin College in Maine, from the classroom to campus operations. As part of its climate action plan, Bowdoin pledges to invest more than $100 million to achieve a net-zero carbon emissions campus by 2042. Students also play a role in upholding an eco-friendly campus. For instance, they can participate in an annual eco-service day, donate school and dorm supplies at the end of the academic year and participate in a residence hall competition every October that aims to reduce energy usage.

Bucknell University (PA)

Bucknell University has committed to implementing more environmentally friendly dining initiatives, including focusing on waste reduction and diversion; sustainable packaging such as paper straws and degradable plastic bags; single stream recycling; and local, sustainable and humane food sourcing. The Pennsylvania school’s five-acre farm also provides produce to the dining halls and the local community, in addition to offering educational opportunities for students.

College of the Atlantic (ME)

The College of the Atlantic became the first U.S. college to sign the Break Free From Plastic pledge in 2019, which involves eliminating the on-campus use of nonessential, disposable, single-use plastic products that can’t be composted. The school has also initiated divestiture from the common stocks of a list of fossil fuel-related companies, and has committed to eliminating campus fossil fuel use by 2030.

Colorado State University

To minimize food waste and assist people on campus who lack access to healthy food, Colorado State University implemented a “food recovery” program that allows students, faculty and staff to receive text messages when there are leftovers at catered school events. CSU also offers an Eco Leaders Peer Education program, in which residential students raise awareness around sustainability initiatives and encourage environmentally responsible behaviors among their peers.

Dickinson College (PA)

Despite already reaching net zero emissions in 2020 — a goal set in 2007 — Dickinson College in Pennsylvania continues to search for ways to be more eco-friendly. For instance, in 2022, Dickinson signed Second Nature’s “Resilience Commitment” — joining more than 100 colleges nationwide in the pledge to make “campuses and communities resilient to climate change,” according to its website. Changes also are being made in the classroom, such as a requirement for students to take at least one sustainability course before graduating.

Florida Gulf Coast University

Undergraduates at Florida Gulf Coast University are required to take “University Colloquium,” a semester-long, writing-intensive course about various environmental concerns. Students discuss potential solutions to sustainability challenges. According to the school’s website, every semester more than 1,000 students take the course, which includes varying field experiences such as visiting cypress domes and marshes.

Seattle University (WA)

In 2021, in response to Pope Francis’ climate call to action among higher education institutions, Seattle University‘s president signed a letter of commitment to participate in the “Seven-Year Journey Towards Integral Ecology.” In relation to that, SU has four main goals: integrating integral ecology across curriculum and research, achieving climate neutrality, practicing socially responsible consumption and developing a sustainable campus climate. The school claims to be the first Jesuit Catholic university in the nation to fulfill its commitment to divesting its endowment from fossil fuel companies.

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

The overall goal at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry is to educate future environmental leaders of all backgrounds. With sustainability a core mission, SUNY ESF has numerous related projects and initiatives on campus, such as plastic-free vending machines, green roofs, a student garden and waste prevention during move-out day at the end of each semester.

University of California–Irvine

UC–Irvine converted its central plant to a system that uses more recycled water instead of potable water to cool 65 buildings, conserving more than 80 million gallons of drinkable water per year. Additionally, the University of California system adopted a policy for all of its campuses and medical centers to fully decarbonize — meaning a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions — by 2045.

University of Connecticut

In 2019, the University of Connecticut began requiring undergraduates to complete at least one three-credit course that relates to the environment. The university senate originally proposed and approved this general education requirement, which is aimed at improving environmental literacy through qualifying courses like “Global Climate Change and Human Societies,” “Plants in a Changing World” and “Human Modifications of Natural Environments.”

University of Dayton (OH)

The University of Dayton offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in sustainability, both designed for undergraduates pursuing double majors such as environmental biology and sustainability. The campus also has a “solar prairie,” an eight-acre lawn filled with solar panels and prairie plants that provides opportunities for research and internships.

University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire claims to emit two-thirds less carbon pollution than the average campus and is one of the first schools to track its carbon and nitrogen footprints, according to the school’s website. UNH set a goal of halving its emissions between 2001 and 2020 and achieved that goal by 2019. Now, the school aims to reduce its primary emissions by 2030 to 75% below its 2010 levels.

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point encourages faculty, staff and students to use more sustainable methods of transportation, such as biking and the bus system. In 2020, it became the first school among the Universities of Wisconsin — formerly known as the UW System — to be a certified Bee Campus USA school, a nationwide initiative to protect pollinators on college campuses.

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14 environmentally friendly college campuses

— Arizona State University

— Bowdoin College

— Bucknell University

— College of the Atlantic

— Colorado State University

— Dickinson College

— Florida Gulf Coast University

— Seattle University

— SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

— University of California–Irvine

— University of Connecticut