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The University of Memphis has been ranked as one of the country’s most environmentally responsible universities by The Princeton Review. The education services company selected the U of M for inclusion in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges, which was released this month.

Developed in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Guide focuses on institutions of higher education that have demonstrated an above-average commitment to sustainability in terms of campus infrastructure, activities, and initiatives.

Profiling the nation’s most environmentally responsible campuses, the Guide is based on a survey that takes into account commitment to building certification using USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building program, environmental literacy programs, formal sustainability committees, use of renewable energy resources, recycling programs, and more.

Memphis joins the ranks of outstanding universities and colleges nationwide that are leading the “green” movement. At the U of M, these initiatives include: an increase in the amount and types of materials recycled and addition of a new collection truck; creation of an urban community garden on campus that produces organically grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs; purchase of its first hybrid police patrol vehicle; development and design by Department of Architecture students of a sustainable demonstration house in Memphis’ Uptown neighborhood; construction of a new student residence complex opening in the fall that will be the first and most sustainable public building in Tennessee, meeting LEED Silver standards in sustainability and green design; purchase of 11 new electric trucks; installation of a new Physical Plant computer-driven pumping system that is expected to save the University more than $400,000 a year; installation of upgraded lighting; and the placement of more than 1,200 plants in the Administration Building to improve air quality.

“Recognition by the Princeton Review of the University of Memphis as one of the nation’s ‘green colleges’ is a reflection of the leadership by its students, its faculty, and its administration to have the University lead by example in supporting sustainability of our environment for future generations,” said David Cox, executive assistant to the president for partnerships and administration.

Other Tennessee schools making the “green” list include Rhodes College, the University of the South (Sewanee), David Lipscomb University, and UT Knoxville.