CSUSB is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S.

Cal State San Bernardino has been recognized for its ongoing efforts at sustainability by the Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2022 edition, which listed the university among the nation’s top green colleges.

The education services company, in its website guide, chose 420 schools based on its survey of administrators at 835 colleges in 2020-21, which asked about their institutions’ sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. The company’s editors analyzed more than 25 data points from the survey to tally Green Rating scores for the schools on a scale of 60 to 99.

CSUSB received a green rating of 96 for 2022.

“Sustainability continues to be one of the core values of our university,” said Jennifer Sorenson, associate vice president of Facilities Planning and Management. “This recognition by the Princeton Review is an acknowledgement of the ongoing, campus-wide efforts to ensure that CSUSB continues to be a leader in sustainability and resiliency in our region.”

Over the summer, CSUSB earned the STARS silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, which stands for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.

The university, also through its Office of Sustainability, coordinates those efforts through the Resilient CSUSB Plan, which involves energy, water, food, waste, transportation, and buildings and land.

“We strongly recommend Cal State San Bernardino to students who care about the environment want to study and live at a green college,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “CSUSB offers excellent academics and demonstrates a commitment to sustainability that is exemplary on many counts.”  

The Princeton Review has published its Guide to Green Colleges annually since 2010. The company is also known for its dozens of categories of college rankings in its book, The Best 387 Colleges, and its website resources, including The Best Value Colleges.

Colleges that earned a green rating score of 80 or higher were chosen for the Guide to Green Colleges. Of the 420 schools selected for the guide, 391 are in the U.S., 26 in Canada, one in Ecuador, one in Egypt, and one in Greece. The schools are listed alphabetically in the guide and not ranked.