Rider claims spot among top eco-friendly schools
By Gianluca D’Elia
An international survey on the world’s most sustainable and environmentally friendly universities ranked Rider as 224th out of 516 universities from 75 countries.
The Universitas Indonesia (UI) GreenMetric World University Ranking measures campus sustainability efforts around the world. This was the first time that Rider has participated in an international sustainability survey. On a national level, the university has been recognized as one of the 361 most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. by The Princeton Review for seven years in a row.
“Although this survey was about our global ranking, it’s important to make sure we are doing what we can to lessen our [environmental] impact on the local level,” said Sustainability Manager Melissa Greenberg. “Students can get involved right here at Rider by joining the volunteer Green Team, applying to be a student Eco Rep or minoring in sustainability studies.”
“This ranking affirms not only the great strides that Rider University has made in becoming more sustainable, but also highlights the ongoing opportunities for students at Rider to make a difference on campus and off,” said Daniel Druckenbrod, director of the sustainability studies program. “Rider’s sustainability studies minor complements any major and sets our students apart with unique perspectives and skills that are valuable across a range of careers including those in business, the arts and science.”
The theme of the 2016 survey was “from policy into action,” according to UI. The survey studied universities’ efforts to improve campus sustainability.
The categories on which schools were judged included infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste management, water usage, transportation and sustainability education. Out of a possible 10,000 points, Rider scored 4,604.
Individually, Rider’s ranking for energy and climate change was 34. The criteria for this category were energy-efficient appliances usage, total electricity usage, green buildings, renewable energy usage, greenhouse gas emission reduction and the ratio of the campus population to the school’s total carbon footprint.
Rider just initiated a United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Student Club last fall. Additionally, 80 percent of the school’s cleaning products are Green Seal-certified. And in Fall 2014, Rider finished construction of a Trigeneration plant that provides over a megawatt of power in addition to hot and cold water.
