Sierra, the official publication of the Sierra Club, recently released their 15th annual Cool Schools national ranking and Cleveland State University was ranked 197^th out of 328 participating colleges and universities.

 Higher education institutions included in the ranking encompassed four-year undergraduate colleges and universities  in the United States and Canada as well as two-year community colleges.

 The ranking was based on scores obtained from Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) reports submitted to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

Participating colleges and universities were required to have a STARS 2.1 or 2.2 rating: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Currently, Cleveland State University has a Silver rating of 2.2 STARS.

 Points were awarded in how well colleges administer sustainability programs in areas of campus energy use, fossil fuel divestment, and transportation, which are climate sustainability sectors that the Sierra Club believes are imperative in addressing the climate crisis to make a positive and lasting impact.

“We're pleased to see an improvement over our 2020 ranking of 246 out of 312 participating institutions. We are continually exploring ways to operate more efficiently and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

“These issues are incredibly to important students, and sustainability rankings are one way for them see to the progress made by their college or university,” said Jennifer McMillin, Director of Sustainability at Cleveland State University.

Considerations in the rankings were also given to efforts in public engagement, as the Sierra Club believes that colleges and universities have a responsibility to inspire students to be advocates of environmental policies and agents of future change.

 Learn more about the Sierra Club Cool Schools 2021 Full Ranking.

Read about sustainability efforts at  Cleveland State University and the CSU STARS report.