Framingham State University has been recognized as one of the nation's most environmentally responsible colleges for the 12th time by The Princeton Review®.

The education services company features Framingham State in its online resource, The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2024 Edition, published earlier this year. The guide is accessible for free at https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/green-guide.

The Princeton Review chose the schools in the guide based on its survey of administrators at 683 colleges during the 2022-23 academic year and surveys of students attending the colleges. The company editors analyzed more than 25 survey data points to select the 522 schools chosen for the guide.

"Climate Change is a defining crisis of our time," says FSU President Dr. Nancy Niemi. "The current generation of students is going to lead our way forward. At Framingham State, students in our Department of Environmental Science and Policy and Department of Environment, Society and Sustainability are gaining the skills, techniques and knowledge to solve the major social-environmental problems of our planet. We also lead through our actions as an institution, and will continue to move our campus toward carbon-neutrality."

FSU has completed three major construction projects in recent years that have earned LEED (Leadership in Environmental Engineering and Design) Gold or Silver certification, including North and West residence halls and the Hemenway Laboratories science addition.

"With increasing concern about climate change, particularly among younger people who will be most affected by its long-term impact, we are seeing increasing interest among college applicants in attending green colleges" said Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief, The Princeton Review.

Of 8,800 applicants the company polled for its 2023 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 69% said having information about a college's commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend the school. Of that cohort, 28% said such information would contribute "very much" or "strongly" to such a decision.

The University has taken a comprehensive approach to environmental sustainability, guided by a Climate Action Plan, which was written in 2010 and is updated every year by FSU's Campus Sustainability Coordinator. This past summer the University installed an array of solar panels on top of Larned Residence Hall, making it the third building on campus with solar panels on the roof.

Other steps the University has taken to reduce energy consumption include eliminating lunch trays in the dining hall to conserve water; installing water-saving dishwaters; altering class schedules to reduce the number of days commuter students have to drive to campus; and installing a university vegetable garden. FSU has received considerable support from food service provider Sodexo, which has also implemented a composting program.