Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere

Greenest School List – Plymouth State University

Sierra Club Names Plymouth State One of America’s Greenest Schools 

PSU students are involved in numerous environmental awareness and advocacy activities, including reducing the use of plastic water bottles on campus. Studies show 86% of water bottles sold in the US are not recycled, and are either incinerated or end up in landfills.

Plymouth, N.H.Plymouth State University’s environmental sustainability efforts are catching the attention of the country’s largest environmental advocacy group. The Sierra Club has named PSU to its list of America’s Greenest Schools. According to the Sierra Club, the rankings are based on “an extensive questionnaire that asks about everything from where a campus gets its energy to whether its landscapers use native plants and its cafeterias offer recycled napkins.” Brian Eisenhauer, PSU’s Director of Environmental Sustainability, said he’s proud of the institution’s efforts in being “green.”

“In my experience the greatest asset we have at PSU is the depth of commitment to sustainability that exists in our students, staff, and faculty, and perhaps just as importantly, in our community,” Eisenhauer said. “PSU’s efforts to be more sustainable involve students and community partners directly in what we do; we have ideas from students and classes directly affect our operations, and I think our willingness to listen and learn from each other as a community has everything to do with our successes.”

Eisenhauer noted the Sierra Club’s list of environmentally sustainable schools considered a large amount of data.

“One reason the Sierra Green Schools list is so meaningful is the comprehensive nature of their analyses, which involves a great deal of information about campus operations, curricular efforts, and co-curricular activities,” he said. “At Plymouth State University we like to say that ‘green is more than our school color,’ and to that end we have made efforts to integrate sustainability not just in academic classes, but across our operations and thinking. It is this depth of commitment and the many, many ways it takes shape at PSU that have led to this recognition as one of the institutions of higher education playing a leadership role in addressing sustainability issues.”

Eisenhauer added that PSU places a high priority on creating an awareness of sustainability issues for each student.

“An important part of our sustainability goals at PSU is to ensure that all of our students become aware of sustainability through their education and co-curricular experiences, and see the importance and value of including sustainability as a factor in the personal and professional decision-making. As result of these efforts we have a very environmentally-aware student body at PSU, and we continue to be pushed by them to pursue excellence in our sustainability efforts.”

Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892, the Sierra Club is now the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than two million members and supporters.

For more information: Bruce Lyndes, PSU News Services Mgr., (603) 535-2775 blyndes@plymouth.edu

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