Both the University of Washington and the University of Oregon receive top marks in the Princeton Review's new "Green Rating" system.
The ranking system measures how environmentally friendly schools are. Institutions receive a score on a scale from 60 to 99 based on their policies and practices.
At the University of Washington the commitment to the environment is evident all across campus. As a result, Washington is one of only six schools to receive an A-, the highest grade attained on the 2008 College Sustainability Report Card, published annually by the Sustainable Endowments Institute in Cambridge, Mass.
The University earned an average grade of “A-” on the 2008 College Sustainability Report Card, an independent environmental sustainability evaluation of campus operations and endowment investments.
Of the 200 schools evaluated on the report card, the UW is tied for the highest average grade with Harvard University and Dartmouth, Middlebury and Carleton colleges, and the University of Virginia. The Sustainable Endowments Institute, a special project of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, published the report in October 2007.
UW Motor Pool Operations has been recognized as one of seven Washington facilities in fighting pollution. It was awarded the 2004 Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices.
According to manager David Carr, motor pool has many ways of minimizing harmful effects on the environment, the most important of which is not well-known.
"The single most important contribution motor pool makes to pollution prevention and sustainable practices is often overlooked," Carr said.