2 schools included in guide to 'green'

Clarkson and St. Lawrence universities are looking at the world through green-colored glasses.

And they're pleased with what they see.

Both colleges have been listed in the Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges, in recognition of their efforts to promote environmental sustainability and green living. This is the first time the Princeton Review has published the guide, though it has been compiling "green" ratings for a few years. The guide is a result of an increase in interest in "going green" from prospective students and their parents.

"They're finding more and more something that we've known for quite a long time, that this is something that students and parents care about," said Macreena A. Doyle, spokeswoman for St. Lawrence University, Canton. "We're very, very pleased that we're included because we think we deserve it."

The Princeton Review surveyed approximately 16,000 college applicants and their parents and found that 68 percent of them wanted to know about colleges' level of commitment to the environment. Of those, 24 percent said that information would affect their choice.

Of the 286 colleges included in the guide, 37 are in New York, including SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, and Syracuse University.

Both Clarkson and SLU have had academic programs about the environment for decades, and the interest in protecting the environment and reducing waste has spread into many facets of campus life. Both schools have several student organizations dedicated to promoting awareness and environmental activism.

"With a little bit of thought, you can rearrange how you do things," said Philip K. Hopke, director of the Center for the Environment at Clarkson University, Potsdam. "In some cases, it costs you a little bit more; sometimes, it saves you a little bit, but it's a better way to run your organization."

Both universities have a commitment to building with green technology and achieving special environmental certification from the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council, of which Clarkson is a member.

SLU's Johnson Hall of Science was awarded a gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification in 2008. It was the first college building in the state to receive the gold rating. Clarkson completed its Technology Advancement Center early last year and is awaiting LEED certification. Its student center, which is scheduled to be completed this summer, also will be submitted for LEED certification.

Dining practices are changing as the commitment to buy local and organic foods spreads. Almost all of the coffee sold at Clarkson is fair trade-certified, and students receive discounts if they bring a reusable mug, according to spokesman Michael P. Griffin. St. Lawrence has its own herb garden, so it can use some of its own produce in the kitchens.

St. Lawrence has signed the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, and the university is drafting a plan by which it will become carbon neutral. Students can borrow bicycles from the library, the same way they can borrow books, and anyone can request an energy audit in a dorm room.

Clarkson has purchased two hybrid vehicles and is trying to cut down on the use of its maintenance trucks.

"You don't see as many trucks and vans driving around campus," Mr. Griffin said. "You see golf carts and golf cart-type vehicles driving around, so one guy doesn't show up with a toolbox in a van."

Officials at both universities say their admissions staffs have noticed prospective students are paying more attention to what colleges are doing to protect the environment.

"We have areas of our campus that we only mow once or twice a year, and when somebody comes here to visit, they will see that," Ms. Doyle said. "Prospective students think that is really cool. Sometimes alumni will come and say, 'Gee, you really don't take care of the grounds the way you used to.' It's a generational thing."