Thinking Green, Being Green

Allegheny is among the nation’s most environmentally friendly colleges, receiving a 93/99 score in the latest Princeton Review Green College rankings.

Here are just some of the ways Allegheny’s campus community engages not only in active discussion but in proactive efforts to be careful stewards of our natural resources.

  • As a charter signatory of the leadership circle of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, we have developed and are pursuing a plan to achieve climate neutrality by the year 2020.
  • Our Center for Economic and Environmental Development engages students, faculty, and the community in creating innovative approaches to environmental stewardship, environmental education, and regional revitalization.
  • Our high-tech composter—one of the first in the state—turns dining hall leftovers into organic fertilizer, which is used on campus instead of chemicals.
  • Wind energy now accounts for 100 percent of the electricity usage on campus, and the annual Energy Challenge promotes energy conservation.
  • Allegheny incorporates environmental principles and ethics into diverse disciplines including art, geology, writing, political science, economics, history, philosophy and communication arts.
  • Our North Village residence complexes are built to LEED standards and incorporate environmentally friendly features including ground-source heat pumps. Students worked with architects as they explored “green” alternatives to traditional construction.
  • Certain campus features minimize stormwater runoff while rain gardens collect, absorb, and filter pollutants before they can reach downtown French Creek.
  • After three years of participating in RecycleMania, an innovative national program that challenges colleges to reduce, reuse and recycle campus waste, students are now developing an Allegheny-specific program.
  • The annual Local Foods Dinner celebrates and educates the community about local food options. Our dining service, Parkhurst, regularly brings local foods to our dining halls through its FarmSource program.

Find more information about the College’s sustainability initiatives here.