Evergreen draws acclaim for green practices

Publications extol college's efforts to push sustainability

By Venice Buhain | The Olympian • Published September 01, 2008

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OLYMPIA – The Evergreen State College recently was recognized by two national publications for its green practices.

The September/October edition of Sierra Magazine, published by the Sierra Club, called Evergreen one of "10 that get it," and The Princeton Review, a college's ranking guide, gave the college a score of 98 out of 99 for its green practices.

The recognition comes as the college's Sustainability Office, established in March, has emphasized establishing and maintaining more environmentally friendly practices, including a "Food Plus" composting program set to start today. The program will allow people to divert more biodegradable waste into composting bins, according to the college.

Evergreen Director of Sustainability John Pumilio said that the publications started their research before his office was established in June.

Evergreen already has a reputation for green practices, but there are ways to improve, Pumilio said.

"We're starting a sustainable living program. We're creating pledges. We're going to teach students how to use green cleaning products," he said. "All of these things are transferable skills that they can use in their lives" after graduation.

Pumilio's office not only gives students environmentally friendly living skills but will analyze the day-to-day functions of the school to find ways to use less energy and decrease waste, he said. Another task will be to connect local businesses and agencies with students in the school's environmental academic programs who can help audit energy use and waste and give advice to decrease them, he said.

Higher education's role in environmental stewardship has become a focus recently in many regions. Last school year, more than 500 colleges nationwide, including Evergreen, Saint Martin's University and South Puget Sound Community College, signed a pledge to developing plans for increasing their practices for environmental awareness.

Many colleges have established administrative departments and offices that focus on making the institution more green, such as Oberlin College in Ohio, Western Washington University and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Pumilio said that if these offices do their job right, they someday will be unnecessary.

"There's so much to do yet. But you hope that this becomes just part of the common practice, and someday you wouldn't need a Sustainability Office, because it's just part of what we do," he said.

The Princeton Review's new Green Rating system gave The Evergreen State College a 98 out of 99 in its new "green rating," released at the same time as its rating for other college factors, such as classroom experience and the fraternity and sorority scene. Eleven colleges received a score of 99 out of 99, including the universities of Washington and Oregon.

The Green Rating takes into account factors such as student access to a quality of life that is both healthy and sustainable, how well a school is preparing students for employment in the clean-energy industry and for environmentally responsible citizenship, and the school's policies, according to the Princeton Review Web site.

Sierra Magazine, published by the environmental group the Sierra Club, has run two roundups of the top 10 colleges with the most environmentally concerned practices. Factors included the college's policies, waste management, student activism and curriculum. The magazine ranked Evergreen No. 5.

Venice Buhain covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5445 or vbuhain@theolympian.com.