Colleges Face Pressure to Incorporate Sustainability
Traditionally, high school students in the United States have selected colleges based on a myriad of factors such as affordability, academics, and football programs. According to the New York Times, prospective students are now asking about a school’s sustainability practices and initiatives. In the competition for students, colleges now have to deal with various groups that are evaluating schools on their environmental commitments and making the results available for prospective students in the form of rankings. The rankings published by these groups examine things like LEED certification, environmental research, and green career training. Societal expectations combined with active student bodies agitating for the adoption of sustainable practices are forcing college administrators to adopt and implement sustainability practices.