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Sierra Club recognizes Furman for sustainability in “Cool Schools” ranking
Furman University has been recognized in the Sierra Club’s 2018 “Cool Schools” rankings. Moving up 34 points from last year’s 79th position, Furman achieved a ranking of 45 this year among the more than 250 colleges that participated in the Cool Schools survey.
The Sierra Club based its rankings on institutions’ existing Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS) scores, a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. The STARS program is an initiative of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
To arrive at the Cool Schools ratings, the Sierra Club processed STARS scores with a custom-built formula based on Sierra Club priorities, with a supplemental question about fossil fuel investments.
The announcement comes on the heels of Furman being named among the top 10 overall performers in AASHE’s 2018 Sustainable Campus Index.
Said Furman Associate Director of Sustainability Assessment Laura Bain, “We are honored to be included among a group of universities committed to environmental stewardship. Furman has a longstanding commitment to sustainability, and I look forward to working with our dedicated faculty, staff and students to continue addressing the challenges ahead.
To view the complete rankings, visit the Cool Schools spreadsheet. More about the Sierra Club’s methodology may be found here. Or contact Laura Bain at Furman’s David E. Shi Center for Sustainability at 864-294-3656 and laura.bain@furman.edu.