UW-Eau Claire again ranked among most environmentally responsible colleges

For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has been named to The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges for its commitment to the environment and sustainability.

The 2024 edition of the guide lists UW-Eau Claire among 522 colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and 12 other countries ranked as environmentally responsible. This is the 10th time UW-Eau Claire has been named to the list.

The Princeton Review chose the colleges based on a survey of administrators about their universities’ sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. The company also surveyed students about their sustainability-related campus experiences.

The multiyear ranking in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges shows the university is maintaining its commitment to sustainability and expanding initiatives ranging from academics to facilities management, says Lily Strehlow, UW-Eau Claire sustainability coordinator.

“Transitioning to sustainable campus academics and operations at UW-Eau Claire is no small task,” Strehlow says. “We do everything we can on a campus level to support sustainability initiatives.”

In recent years, the university has started investigating business-travel carbon-reduction opportunities and expanding sustainability-course offerings, Strehlow says. She noted that UW-Eau Claire made a formal commitment to carbon neutrality in 2007.

“After 16 years of tracking our carbon footprint, 10 years on The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges and the recent creation of our certificate in sustainability and climate action, we now have a tradition of climate leadership to honor and expand into a culture of sustainability,” Strehlow says.

Several sustainability programs that began as student-driven ideas have been implemented on campus.