SUNY New Paltz makes Sierra Magazine’s “Cool Schools” list for sustainable practices, facilities

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SUNY New Paltz has been recognized as one of the 201 greenest schools in America by Sierra Magazine, the publication of the Sierra Club, which placed the College on the most recent installment of its annual “Cool Schools” list.

The publication says the list identifies “the colleges working hardest to protect the planet in 2016.”

The “Cool Schools” list ranks four-year undergraduate institutions on criteria ranging from campus energy use, transportation and fossil fuel divestment, to community engagement with environmental issues through coursework, scholarship and advocacy.

New Paltz is on the Sierra list for the first time in its history, thanks in large part to its earning a STARS Silver Rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in 2015Sierra’s scoring system draws heavily on data colleges and universities submit to the AASHE’s STARS rating system, which compares colleges on a range of sustainability-related criteria.

Sierra‘s rankings serve as a preeminent guide for prospective students and families who wish to factor commitment to environmentalism into the college search process. The College is one of just eight SUNY colleges to achieve “Cool School” designation for 2016.

More information about Sierra’s “Cool Schools,” including their methodology and scoring key, is available online.