Forbes Magazine Names Carleton College One of the Nation’s Ten Greenest Colleges

Forbes Magazine has recognized Carleton College as one of the 10 “greenest” colleges and universities in the United States.

14 May 2008 Posted In:

Forbes Magazine has recognized Carleton College as one of the 10 “greenest” colleges and universities in the United States.

Forbes says, “Minnesota’s Carleton College may be tiny (student population: 1,986), but it’s a standout in its environmental efforts. In 2004, Carleton became the first college in the country to own a utility-grade wind turbine, and it was the first Minnesota college to offer “single-stream” recycling—meaning it’s not necessary to separate paper, plastics and glass for recycling. Carleton invests part of its endowment in renewable energy funds.”

Entitled “America’s Greenest Colleges,” the article cites Carleton’s rating on the College Sustainability Report Card 2008. Published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the report grades the 200 schools with the largest endowments in the U.S. and Canada on a variety of factors, including the administration’s commitment to sustainability, the school’s energy-related policies, and its investment priorities.

Carleton is one of six schools—joining Harvard, Dartmouth, the University of Washington, Middlebury, and the University of Vermont—that scored well enough in all categories to merit the highest overall grade of “A-,” earning them the distinction of College Sustainability Leaders.

Carleton was also noted as one of five schools demonstrating the greatest improvements from last year’s report. Additionally, Carleton was recognized, along with Dartmouth and Williams, as an Endowment Sustainability Leader.

Other areas of the Report Card where Carleton fared well included administration, food and recycling, investment priorities and shareholder engagement. Carleton’s profile in the report references President Robert A. Oden Jr.’s signing of the President’s Climate Commitment, an agreement by university presidents to make their school carbon neutral, and Carleton’s Environmental and Technologies Studies (ENTS) program’s faculty involvement in sustainability efforts, as well as the recent appointment of a Director of Energy.

The Forbes article recognizes the growing significance of sustainability efforts on college campuses. “Across the country, students and officials are keen on green,” writes Brian Wingfield. “Part of it stems from growing public concern about climate change. Schools also see financial returns on ‘sustainable’ investments, such as energy-efficient buildings and recycling efforts. And they’re paying closer attention to their impact on the environment as students increasingly consider a school’s environmental stewardship in choosing a college.”