Campus Kitchens Earn Top Sustainability Recognition
What makes a university ‘cool’? According to Sierra magazine’s analysis of higher education institutions last August, implementing a Campus Kitchen helps.
The University of Vermont earned Sierra’s distinction as the fourth out of their “10 Coolest Schools” list (this year it ranks 17 of 100) for its commitment to the environment. Sierra magazine editors came up with a rating system based on efficiency, academics, administration and purchasing, and energy to determine the score.
Within the rating system, the University of Vermont scored well, but it was the bonus points the magazine awarded that won the college the fourth highest ranking. Among reasons why UVM received bonus points for its sustainable projects: its Clean Energy Fund, the university’s Sustainable Food Working Group, and The Campus Kitchens Project.
A growing number of schools that house Campus Kitchens are gaining recognition and adding awards to their university display cases, due in part the student-led hunger relief effort on campus.
This month, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality awarded state environmental distinction (Exemplary Environmental Enterprise or E3) to its first university in the state: the University of Virginia. While the E3 includes many city public works and resource-focused Virginia businesses, few entities as large as the University of Virginia are included on the list.
What makes the University of Virginia rank at the top of environmental quality in its state? A recent report released by the local news station mentioned programs aimed at reducing food waste: tray-less dining, a new composting program, and dining services’ involvement with The Campus Kitchens Project.
The Campus Kitchens Project’s green glow doesn’t just shine on a select number of environmentally-focused schools; 11 of 25 Campus Kitchens, and two who will open their doors in Fall 2010, saw their host universities included in The Princeton Review’s “Greenest Colleges in America” list, released in recognition of Earth Day, April 22.
The Princeton Review recognized that more high school seniors choose their colleges based on how environmentally conscious they are. That gave the university ratings company reason to devise a method for evaluating a school’s “greenness”, using factors such as: campus commitment to sustainability, degree of environmental academics, and efforts to reduce a school’s carbon footprint.
With The Campus Kitchens Project aiding all of the evaluation factors, 11 schools that carry a Campus Kitchen were named in the list of 268 green colleges, including: the College of William and Mary, Gettysburg College, Johns Hopkins University, Marquette University, St. Lawrence University, Union College, University of Florida, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Vermont, University of Virginia, and Wake Forest University.
Elon College and Tulane University were also mentioned on the list, where Campus Kitchen operations will start up this Fall. It’s all part of the cyclical relationship of university sustainability.