Using pre-season results of The Associated Press' Top 25 NCAA Football poll as a base, SaveOnEnergy.com compared five metrics to identify the top-ranking eco-friendly football colleges. For a full explanation of SaveOnEnergy.com's methodology and the full ranking, view their full slideshow of the results, but here's a cheat sheet:
Ranking criteria:
- Stadium sustainability efforts
- Number of active green organizations
- Waste diversion rate
- Percentage of budget spent on locally grown or organic foods
- Level of Environmental Studies degrees offered
The Top 10 Eco-Friendly Football Colleges and Universities:
1. University of Washington
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #25
Active Green Organizations: 45
Waste Diversion Rate: 58%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 59%
2. Stanford University
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #11
Active Green Organizations: 12
Waste Diversion Rate: 65%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 44%
3. The Ohio State University
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #5
Active Green Organizations: 84
Waste Diversion Rate: 42.8%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 26.9%
4. Texas A&M
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #21
Active Green Organizations: 18
Waste Diversion Rate: 66%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 24%
5. UCLA
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #7
Active Green Organizations: 38
Waste Diversion Rate: 69%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 14%
6. North Carolina
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #23
Active Green Organizations: 30
Waste Diversion Rate: 46%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 22.4%
7. Clemson
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #16
Active Green Organizations: 11
Waste Diversion Rate: 42.5%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 35%
8. Florida State University
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #1
Active Green Organizations: 4
Waste Diversion Rate: 40%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 45%
9. Nebraska
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #22
Active Green Organizations: 6
Waste Diversion Rate: 53%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 12.85%
10. Wisconsin
AP Top 25 Pre-Season Rank: #14
Active Green Organizations: 26
Waste Diversion Rate: 14%
Share of budget spent on locally grown/organic foods: 40%
The Fibrex Group has sold recycling containers to many of these schools for placement in their dormatories, stadiums & common areas. To find out what we can do for you, please check out www.fibrexgroup.com or give us a call at 1-800-346-4458. Work. Play. Recycle.
By Charlotte O'Malley at EcoBuilding.com