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CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Sierra Club has released its "Cool Schools" rankings based on the 'greenness' of participating universities, and Oregon State has the highest green ranking of any public college in the state (private college Lewis & Clark came in 5^th). Oregon State is listed as 20th in the nation.

The Cool Schools ranking is open to all four-year undergraduate colleges and universities in the nation. The award honors more than 200 colleges that are helping to solve climate problems and making significant efforts to integrate sustainability into their teaching, research and engagement and to operate sustainably. Evaluations were based on survey information provided by the participating schools. The raw data for scoring came from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) STARS self-reporting tool, plus a supplemental question about fossil fuel investments.

Brandon Trelstad, sustainability officer for Oregon State, said that the university's continued commitment to sustainability has led to a number of honors from national organizations over the years.

"We continue to prioritize our work to reduce our carbon footprint. Things like conserving energy and recycling and repurposing materials to keep them out of the landfill help support carbon emission reductions and offer numerous co-benefits," Trelstad said. "I continue to consider myself lucky to do sustainability work at Oregon State and in the Pacific Northwest. Being green is part of OSU's ethos, we consider ourselves good stewards of the planet and being a 'Cool School' highlights this work."

The Sierra Club noted innovative research at OSU, calling out assistant professor Chad Higgins' research into the impact on soil moisture from ground mounted solar panels, and the benefits of growing food there. Higgins' preliminary findings indicated a co-benefit for the panels as well - cooler temperatures, which means more electricity production from the panels.

"Based on my casual summertime observations at our six-acre solar array," Trelstad said, "it didn't surprise me that the ground under panels might be good for some food crops. But I was elated to learn that growing crops could also increase solar production. This is the kind of synergy we look for in sustainability work; systems thinking and looking for co-benefits across those systems."