Baylor on the ‘Cool Schools’ List for Sustainability Practices

Baylor University’s ongoing commitment to sustainability has been honored for the fourth time by SIERRA Magazine, which has named the University to its 2017 “Cool Schools” list. One of nine universities from Texas, along with Rice, University of Houston, Texas A&M, University of North Texas, University of Texas at Arlington, UT-Rio Grande Valley, Texas Tech University and UT-Dallas, and one of four Big 12 Conference schools, along with Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, Baylor is among the 227 four-year colleges and universities honored for their campus sustainability practices.

To determine the rankings, SIERRA collaborates with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to use raw data from AASHE’s STARS Reporting Tool, which gives colleges and universities a method for tracking and assessing their sustainability programs. That data is then scored across 62 questions.

“For the third straight year, and fourth time in ve years, we have the great honor of being named among other elite universities working to be better stewards of our resources as a part of the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools List,” said Smith Getterman, director of sustainability and special projects at Baylor. “This success is a testament to the ongoing collaborative efforts of the University community as we work towards our Sustainable 2020 goals and beyond.”

SIERRA, which is published by the Sierra Club, says its annual Cool Schools rankings serve as a guide for prospective students, current students, administrators and alumni to compare colleges’ commitments to sustainability. It also serves to spur healthy competition among schools, raise environmental standards on campus and publicly reward the institutions that work hard to protect the planet.