SIERRA MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES 2021 RANKINGS OF NORTH AMERICA'S “COOLEST SCHOOLS”

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OAKLAND, CA - September 9, 2021 - Today, Sierra Club’s national magazine, Sierra, released its fifteenth annual “Cool Schools” ranking of North America’s greenest colleges and universities. This year, Sierra received submissions from a record-breaking 328 schools across the United States and Canada

Each of the schools ranked in the top 20 have displayed a deep and thorough commitment to addressing climate change, protecting the natural world, and encouraging environmental responsibility both through their campus operations and course curricula.  Using a customized scoring system, independent researchers ranked colleges and universities based on academic criteria, such as environmentally-focused curricula, student engagement with environmental activism, renewable energy and waste management operations, and schools’ planning and administrative standards. 

This year, Arizona State University came in first, after consistently appearing in the top 5 for several years. University of California campuses made a strong showing, with Irvine (coming in second), Berkeley (#6), Merced (#7), Santa Barbara (#16) and Davis (#20) all cracking the top 20. US East Coast colleges also scaled the list in a big way, claiming 9 of the Top 20 slots this year. Not to be outdone by US institutions, Thompson Rivers in British Columbia came in at #3, while Université de Sherbrooke and Université Laval, both in Quebec, claimed the #11 and #13 spots, respectively - demonstrating that the climate movement is alive and well globally.  

"In the past 15 years, Cool Schools has evolved dramatically—we used to hear about light-green initiatives like double-sided printing and Earth Day parties. Today, schools have dedicated sustainability professionals who innovate pathways toward audacious zero-carbon and zero-waste and circular goals," says Katie O'Reilly, Sierra's lifestyle and adventure editor. "This year, I was particularly impressed by how campus sustainability offices used pandemic downtime to examine what it means to 'come back' and how sustainability and equity could be further integrated into every aspect of campus life and operations. They exhibited a real 'let no crisis go to waste' ethos."

Sierra’s Top 20 schools of 2021 are:

1. Arizona State University (Tempe, Arizona) 

2. University of California, Irvine (Irvine, California) 

3. Thompson Rivers University (Kamloops, British Columbia)

4. Cornell University (Ithaca, New York)

5. State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (Syracuse, New York)

6. University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California)

7. University of California, Merced (Merced, California) 

8. University of Connecticut (Storrs, Connecticut)

9. University of New Hampshire (Durham, New Hampshire)

10. Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado)

11. Université de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, Québec)

12. Colby College (Waterville, Maine)

13. Université Laval (Québec City, Québec)

14. Seattle University (Seattle, Washington) 

15. Chatham University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

16. University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, California) 

17. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)

18. University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, Massachusetts)

19. American University (Washington, District of Columbia)

20. University of California, Davis (Davis, California) 

“Youth and students have always been at the forefront of movements for change, from the civil rights movements of the 60s and 70s to the youth-led climate strikes of today,” says Eddie Junsay, Youth Leadership Director of the Sierra Club. “School campuses play an important role providing the environment for students to collectively develop their political analysis and learn how to advocate for the world they want to see. This issue is a chance for schools to heed the calls of their students to be leaders for climate and social justice.”

The full ranking of 328 colleges and universities is online at https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/coolschools/2021