Reaffirmed: National leadership in sustainability

UNH reaffirmed its standing as one of the nation’s most sustainable universities this fall when it was awarded a STARS Platinum rating — the highest designation given by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). UNH is one of only nine higher education institutions in the country to earn platinum from STARS, the self-reporting Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, and was fifth overall among nearly 700 institutions.

“We know that one of the most important qualities that students look for in a university is a genuine commitment to sustainability,” said UNH President James W. Dean Jr. “Working for a more sustainable world is one of our strategic priorities, and we’re proud to be at the forefront in looking to the future, helping our state be more resilient and graduating thousands of leaders who are ready to address these challenges.”

In addition to the platinum rating, UNH was recently ranked ninth among the Top 20 Coolest Schools of 2021 by the Sierra Club and remains a fixture on the Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll, just one of 27 out of more than 800 reviewed.

Other sustainability achievements include:

• UNH offers students more than 450 courses related to sustainability and is one of the few universities to offer a dual major in sustainability.
• 35% of UNH faculty are conducting sustainability-related research.
• 85% of UNH Durham’s energy comes recycled landfill gas.
• All three dining halls on the Durham campus and the UNH Dairy Bar are three-star Green Restaurant Certified.
• UNH’s endowment is more than 50% invested in sustainable investments.

“We stand together with the global community in this pivotal decade when we know we must collectively address the existential climate crisis, as well as other interconnected challenges of sustainability,” said Tom Kelly, executive director of the UNH Sustainability Institute and the university’s chief sustainability officer. “Our community embraces sustainability as a shared ethos and a driver of collaboration and impact that is core to our mission.”