UNT recognized for sustainability by The Princeton Review four years in a row

Thursday, October 24, 2013 - 21:25
Category:

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- The University of North Texas will be included in the 2014 edition of The Princeton Review’s “Guide to Green Colleges.” This marks the fourth year in a row UNT has been included in the guide.

The guide recognizes institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Canada that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The guide is released in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council – the organization that oversees the LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, ranking system.

Some of UNT’s green efforts include the installation of six electric vehicle charging stations on campus; the installation of three wind turbines near Apogee Stadium; and the opening of four LEED Certified buildings, including UNT’s Business Leadership Building, Apogee Stadium, Life Sciences Complex, and UNT’s newest parking garage.

In 2008, UNT became the first large public university in Texas to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, pledging to adhere to more stringent environmental standards and promising to achieve at least LEED Silver certification on new buildings. The UNT Life Science Complex earned Gold LEED certification in 2011. That same year, UNT became the first university in the nation to earn LEED Platinum certification for a new construction, college football facility, when Apogee Stadium received the designation. Also in 2011, UNT became the first university to offer a fully vegan dining hall, Mean Greens.

UNT has robust recycling programs, gets about half its energy from renewable sources, has reduced its carbon footprint by a half-billion pounds, and will save about $3 million annually through a 20-year energy savings contract that includes efforts to make more than 120 buildings on campus more energy efficient.

Each year UNT recycles more than 360 tons of paper and cardboard, nearly 5,000 pounds of cans and 600,000 plastic bottles.

For more information about UNT’s sustainability efforts, visit http://sustainable.unt.edu.

UNT News Service
News_Service@unt.edu
(940) 565-2108