Source: Ben Champion, 785-313-3085, champion@k-state.edu
Web sites: http://www.princetonreview.com/greenguide and http://www.usgbc.org/campus
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-2535, bbohn@k-state.edu

Friday, April 23, 2010

K-STATE ONLY SCHOOL IN KANSAS TO BE INCLUDED IN NEW GUIDEBOOK ABOUT THE NATION'S MOST GREEN CAMPUSES

MANHATTAN -- Move over, purple. Kansas State University is going green.

That's the view of new guidebook about institutions of higher education that have demonstrated an above-average commitment to sustainability in terms of campus infrastructure, activities and initiatives.

K-State is the only school in Kansas to be included in the newly released "Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges," a free comprehensive guidebook that profiles the nation's most environmentally responsible campuses. The book was developed by The Princeton Review in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council.

Based on a survey of hundreds of colleges nationwide, the guidebook profiles the country's most environmentally responsible campuses.

The guide notes that K-State has a plan to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability that encompasses the curriculum, research, outreach and operations. The guide also mentions that the university's colleges have all introduced courses pertaining to sustainability, and that faculty research projects cover topics such as energy-efficient lighting, sustainable building and green design, textile recycling and supply chain sustainability.

Among K-State's green efforts listed in the guide include the university's Gameday Recycling project at home football games; the composting of food waste from campus dining facilities and its use at the K-State student farm; and the numerous student organizations dedicated to sustainability, including Students for Environmental Action, the U.S. Green Building Council Students and Greeks Go Green.

K-State also is in the process of seeking LEED certification for the university's new Leadership Studies Building. The certification is a U.S. Green Building Council standard that takes into account how a project is designed, constructed and ultimately operated to mitigate its impact on the environment and those who occupy the building. In addition, the university is host of an award-winning, annual conference on sustainability.

Ben Champion, director of sustainability at K-State, said green efforts at K-State have been universitywide.

"There's a tremendous amount of great work and interest in sustainability and green efforts at K-State. Students, faculty and staff are all playing vital roles in the numerous projects, small and large, throughout campus," Champion said. "It's great that the Princeton Review acknowledges these efforts. In some cases, we've been doing what we can to save energy and recycle for quite some time. In other cases, there are a lot of new efforts and opportunities to be excited about. I hope this kind of rating by the Princeton Review helps prospective students and the national higher education community to see some vibrant shades of green in K-State's sea of purple."

The Princeton Review chose the 286 schools include in the guide based on the green rating scores each received in summer 2009 for the company's online college profiles and/or annual college guidebooks. The green rating is a numerical score from 60 to 99 that's based on several data points. The 286 schools included in the "Green Colleges" guide received scores in the 80th percentile or higher.

The guide can be downloaded at http://www.princetonreview.com/greenguide and http://www.usgbc.org/campus.