Colgate University Sustainability

Once again, Colgate has been recognized for sustainability on a national level through the Princeton Review Green College Honor Roll and the Sierra Magazine Cool Schools Ranking. Colgate earned the highest possible sustainability score, along with 29 other institutions, for the Green Honor Roll. The rating provides a comprehensive measure of the university’s performance as an environmentally aware and prepared institution. It includes (1) whether students have a campus qualit...y of life that is both healthy and sustainable, (2) how well a school is preparing students for employment in the clean-energy economy of the 21st century as well as for citizenship in a world defined by environmental concerns and opportunities, and (3) how environmentally responsible a school’s policies are. Additionally, Colgate ranked 34th out of 312 institutions involved in the Sierra Magazine’s 2020 Cool Schools ranking. This assessment ranks institutions’ sustainability efforts compared to a level of complete sustainability. These rankings serve to spur healthy competition among schools, raise environmental standards on campus, and publicly reward the institutions that work hard to protect the planet. https://www.princetonreview.com//green-gu/green-honor-roll https://www.sierraclub.org//cool-schools-2020/cool-schools

Professor Ian Helfant, faculty advisor to the Colgate Beekeeping Club, monitors the apiary’s four hives over the summer while students are away. Here he gives an in-depth look at the inner workings of the beehives, caring for the hives, and the bees’ behavior.

Established in 2018 with $1.25 million, the Green Revolving Loan Fund is designed to support energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainability projects on campus that demonstrate a clear, measurable financial payback and carbon and ecological footprint reductions. The fund has enabled the replacement of light bulbs in Little Hall and has also financed two major performance upgrades of the Colgate biomass boiler system to make it more compatible with carbon-neutral sources. The Class of 1970, as part of its 50th Reunion in 2020, has chosen to support the GRLF. Video Credits: Ray Hartung '70

The Town and Village of Hamilton have officially been certified as Climate Smart Communities. It all started with the efforts of a few people in 2016, then slowly grew to include the whole community, including Colgate University faculty, students, and staff.

Check out the June newsletter for a look into ten years of the Colgate Community Garden, the Climate Smart Communities certifications of the Town and Village of Hamilton, and social justice highlights and resources. https://t.e2ma.net//p21pkd/1d5f2394a73c88611242aa3d4bd883d3