November 1, 2022
St. John’s University is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review’s annual survey of students and administrators.
The education services company features St. John’s in its online resource, The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2023 Edition, published on October 25, 2022. St. John’s, which this year continued a campus electrification initiative to reduce its carbon footprint, ranked 39th nationally and was the only school in the New York City metropolitan area among the top 50 green colleges.
“Being a good steward of the environment aligns directly with St. John’s University's mission of service,” said Brian Baumer, Associate Vice President of Campus Facilities and Services. “This achievement is the result of a commitment to continuous improvement by the entire University community, including students, faculty, administrators, and grounds personnel and represents a great job by everyone."
The Princeton Review, known for its dozens of categories of college rankings, surveyed administrators and students at 713 colleges during the 2021–22 academic year. Editors analyzed more than 25 survey points to select the 455 schools chosen for the guide. Green Rating scores were ranked on a scale of 60 to 99; St. John’s earned a score of 97 and a place among the top 50.
The guide is accessible for free at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide.
“We strongly recommend St. John’s to the increasing number of students who care about the environment and want their ‘best-fit’ college to also ideally be a green one,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief. “In addition to its excellent academic programs, St. John’s demonstrates an exemplary commitment to sustainability and to green practices.”
The Princeton Review recognized St. John's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the presence of a full-time campus sustainability officer, its investments in local and organic food, the opportunity for students to pursue a master of business administration degree in Sustainability, and more. In 2022, the University continued a multimillion-dollar green-energy initiative that includes improved pipe insulation, boiler upgrades, classroom redesigns, the addition of steam trap retrofits, and more that will save 300,000 kilowatt-hours of energy annually.
“St. John’s University has been on a path to reduce carbon emissions and is very much aware that students, faculty, and administration all contribute toward this goal,” said Thomas Goldsmith, the University’s Director of Environmental and Energy Conservation, Department of Campus Facilities and Services. “Being on the campus, you get an idea of how involved all of these bodies are in the effort to ‘green’ the University.”