Furman included in The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges

Furman University is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review, which has featured the university in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2023 Edition.

The Princeton Review, an educational services company, chose the 455 schools in the guide based on its survey of administrators at 713 colleges in 2021-22 about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. The Princeton Review analyzed 25 data points to calculate schools’ Green Ratings. Colleges that earned a Green Rating score of 80 or higher were chosen for the Guide to Green Colleges. Furman earned a score of 90 on a scale of 60 to 99.

Laura Bain, associate director of sustainability assessment.

“Furman students engage in a wide variety of sustainability research and co-curricular activities, including working at the on-campus, organic-practice Furman Farm,” according to The Princeton Review’s profile of Furman. “Furman was a charter signatory to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, and the Board of Trustees approved a sustainability master plan for the university, setting a goal of carbon neutrality by 2026,” it added. The guide also mentioned Furman as the home of the first LEED-certified building in South Carolina, Hipp Hall. Furman now has a total of eight LEED-certified buildings on its 800-acre campus.

Furman’s profile includes metrics such as the university’s condensed work week option for employees, indoor and secure bike storage, shower facilities and lockers for bicycle commuters and a public greenhouse gas inventory plan. The guide notes that 12 percent of Furman’s food budget is spent on local or organic food.

Furman has appeared in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges every year since the inaugural 2010 edition, which was published in 2009, for a total of 13 editions.

“Our inclusion in Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges is a testament to Furman’s longstanding commitment to sustainability across our curriculum, operations, and campus and community engagement,” said Laura Bain ’02, associate director of sustainability assessment at The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities. “We are proud of our accomplishments to date, and forever strive to improve our sustainability performance, initiatives and opportunities for our students.”