Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Another Green School Campus Gets Recognition

This trend is catching on and at iGreenBuild.com we love to read about higher education practicing what they preach about sustainability and green building. Naropa University recycles, uses wind power, uses eco-friendly landscaping practices, offers green transportation for its students and has undergraduate and graduate tracks in environmental studies. The mix of green school facility management and environmentally conscious student life will no doubt produce the type of business leaders and citizens the planet needs for a healthy future. Great work Naropa staff and students!
Princeton Review Recognizes Naropa University's Sustainable Leadership
in 2011 Guide to 311 Green Colleges 
 
BOULDER, Colo. (May 18, 2011) – Naropa University has been recognized by Princeton Review in The Princeton Review's Guide to 311 Green Colleges as one of 308 institutions of higher education in the United States and three in Canada that demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation. 
The 220-page guide is created in partnership with the United States Green Building Council, an outstanding national nonprofit organization best-known for developing the LEED green building certification program. This past fall, USGBC launched its Center for Green Schools to increase its efforts to drive change in how campuses and schools are designed, constructed, and operated.
Naropa University was recognized as an American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) signatory school, which the university joined in 2007. ACUPCC is a high-visibility effort to address global climate disruption undertaken by a network of colleges and universities that have made institutional commitments to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions from specified campus operations, and to promote the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth's climate.

ACUPCC's mission is to accelerate progress towards climate neutrality and sustainability by empowering the higher education sector to educate students, create solutions, and provide leadership-by-example for the rest of society.

Naropa University's Environmental Sustainability
Naropa University has long been committed to an institution-wide commitment to sustainable environmental practices. Offsetting 100% of its electricity from wind power renewable energy credits, Naropa University is committed to green practices. Naropa University's Zero Waste goal supports the university in being a sustainable system where resources are fully used and waste is reduced to a minimum, with partnerships with Eco-Cycle, on-going educational and community events, composting and weekly trash audits conducted on all Naropa campuses to assess potential waste reduction. Naropa University's other sustainable initiatives include:
  • Naropa University landscapers utilize environmentally sound practices, creating a campus that is a model of efficiency.
  • Recognizing the positive ecological, physical and economic benefits of alternative transportation, Naropa University provides all students and staff with an RTD Eco Pass, which offers free access to local and regional RTD buses.
  • Naropa University also gives Naropa community members and visitors access to Naropa's bike fleet. At present Naropa has 120 bicycles that students have access to for free. Bicycles can be checked out for a month at a time and are maintained by Naropa's Bike Shop.
  • Naropa students, staff and faculty are encouraged to participate in Boulder Car Share and receive parking and permit discounts as incentives.
With one undergraduate and three graduate study tracks in environmental career paths, Naropa University's environmental stewardship extends beyond the day-to-day approaches, to training the next generation of sustainable leaders.
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.

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