CWRU recognized with sustainability award, rankings

During the fall semester, Case Western Reserve University and the Office for Sustainability were recognized with the Commuter Choice Challenge Award and with rankings on the “green schools” lists.

Commuter Choice Challenge Award

For the third year in a row, the university received the Commuter Choice Challenge Award from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). CWRU was chosen for the award because of its efforts to improve the campus' transportation footprint by moving students, faculty and staff out of single occupancy vehicles and increasing use of mass transit, carpool, bike or walking instead of driving to campus. The prize was awarded at the Sustainable Cleveland annual summit. Stephanie Corbett, CWRU’s director of sustainability, accepted the award. This year, NOACA combined efforts with the City of Cleveland's sustainability office to inspire Cleveland-area employers to improve their transportation footprint in variety of ways for the “Year of Sustainable Transportation.”

“Green school” lists

Case Western Reserve University recently ranked on two green higher education lists: The Princeton Review’s Green Rating and the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools List. The Princeton Review published its green ratings last fall, giving CWRU a score of 94 out of a possible 99. The company chose colleges to be included on the list based on "Green Rating" scores. Those with a score of 80 or higher were included on the list. Information was collected on schools’ sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. Find CWRU on page 53 of the full Green Schools Guide (PDF). The Sierra Club’s Cool Schools 2016 list came out in in the fall, with Case Western Reserve ranked 89th out of the 201 participating institutions. CWRU’s overall score was 561.51 out of a possible 1,000. CWRU ranked higher in investment, academics and transportation than in the 2015 list. Learn more about the ranking and see the full list. “Sustainability crosses all disciplines and departments on campus,” Corbett said. “We are proud to have such strong partners to forward green methods, practices and programs at CWRU. Our inclusion on these annual lists is an outward affirmation of an inward commitment.” The rankings of both the Princeton Review and the Sierra Club were created with data reported by the CWRU Office for Sustainability to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education through their Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System. The CWRU Office for Sustainability gathers data and information from many groups on campus including dining and Bon Appétit Management Co., procurement, facilities, grounds, institutional research, access services, the registrar and more.