Furman University Listed among Sierra Club’s “Cool Schools”

GREENVILLE, SC – September 8, 2010 – The Sierra Club has ranked Furman University among the top 50 eco-friendly universities in the country for the second year running.

Furman is No. 40 on the fourth annual “Cool Schools” list compiled by the club’s magazine, Sierra, up eight spots from last year’s ranking of 48.

The magazine surveyed sustainability experts at hundreds of schools and graded institutions in categories such as energy supply, efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration and financial investments.

Furman received high marks in all categories except energy supply, indicating room for improvement in locating cleaner sources of energy. Furman garnered the highest possible grade (10 points) in energy efficiency.

Vermont’s Green Mountain College scored highest on the Cool Schools list, moving up from 35th place last year.

Furman has outlined a long-range, comprehensive approach for making the university even more sustainable in its practices, policies and learning environments,” said Angela Halfacre, director of the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability at Furman.  “The Cool Schools ranking is one of many ways in which Furman and other schools can monitor progress and share experiences across higher education.”

The Shi Center for Sustainability coordinates the school’s academic, co-curricular and community outreach activities related to sustainability. The center’s goal is to ensure resources and opportunities of this generation are available in the future through conservation and stewardship of the environment.

Go to http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201009/coolschools/ for more information about the Cool Schools list.