Sierra magazine has ranked DePaul University among the top 100 greenest colleges in the nation. DePaul placed No. 46 in the fifth annual ranking of “Cool Schools” that protect the environment and teach future leaders sustainability practices. The rankings are published in Sierra magazine’s September/October issue.

“DePaul University’s commitment to sustainability has been a long-standing tradition, but over the last few years we have been deepening our dedication to it,” said Barb Willard, associate professor of the College of Communication and Department of Environmental Science and Studies, who is also a member of the DePaul President’s Sustainability Task Force. “We have been working to integrate sustainability into our curricula, research programs, community engagement and campus operations. We are proud of these efforts and believe they are essential expressions of the Catholic, Vincentian, urban mission of our university.”

To further its mission and values through a coordinated focus on sustainability, DePaul established the Sustainability Initiatives Task Force (SITF) in 2010. SITF is charged with developing and recommending a sustainability plan for DePaul. Their mission is “more than being green. It makes the connection between the environment, the economy and social justice so that people around the world can enjoy a healthy and fulfilling life now and in the future.”  

Among DePaul’s initiatives are transitioning food carryout containers from Styrofoam to molded fiber paper and corn-based products, joining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Challenge, changing landscaping maintenance materials to new organic products and investing more than $6 million in other energy-saving-related projects.

The Sierra Club is a grassroots environmental organization that was established in 1892 to protect the environment. It is the largest organization of its kind, with more than 1.4 million members. 

To view the complete list of the Sierra Club’s “Cool Schools,” please visit: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201109/coolschools/all-schools.aspx.