Sustainability Corner: How can Geneseo return to being a “Green College”

Photo courtesy of Photo Editor, Faith Zatlukal

There are numerous ways for students, faculty, and the community to make SUNY Geneseo a green college again.

It is stated on the SUNY Geneseo website that “SUNY Geneseo is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2024 Edition.” While this may be the case, in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2025 Edition, SUNY Geneseo is nowhere to be found— and it acts as a harrowing reminder that the college and its students could be doing more. Whether because of increased construction or decreased student participation rates, the school has lost touch with its sustainable mission. 

The title of being a “Green College” is surveyed by The Princeton Review in a group of 511 colleges— all of whom opt in and work with them to participate. This title is bestowed yearly onto those colleges based on the following criteria: “Whether students have a quality of life on campus that is both healthy and sustainable, how well a school is preparing students for employment in an increasingly green economy, [and] how environmentally responsible a school's policies are.” 

This is combined with what their website deems ‘Student Opinion’— “Student survey responses included student ratings of how sustainability issues influenced their education and life on campus; administration and student support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts; and the visibility and impact of student environmental groups”— these culminate together to create each college's scores; SUNY Geneseo did not rank nor have a spot this year. 

The SUNY Geneseo web page explains that the college was awarded the 2024 title in recognition of its achievements following, “a long-standing commitment to sustainability. Geneseo's President’s Commission on Sustainability was established in 2012, and the College formed the Office of Sustainability in 2014. The sustainability studies major was launched in Fall 2021. Students, staff, faculty, and alumni are involved consistently in a variety of sustainability initiatives, which can be viewed on the college’s award-winning interactive storytelling map.”

The website continues stating, “Six campus buildings have earned certification from the US Green Building Council, including Red Jacket dining complex, and have incorporated geothermal wells and rainwater collection in some buildings. Geneseo has appeared on the Green Colleges list more than 12 times.” The article concluded by stating that “The Princeton Review has published its guide annually since 2010.” 

While SUNY Geneseo prides itself on its sustainability habits, we have only four sustainability initiatives and projects: the eGarden, Roemer Arboretum, Geothermal wells (heating), and composting buckets. Alongside this, volunteer outings are few and far between, but still listed on the Geneseo website. 

In an article that was released earlier this year, the sustainability corner covered volunteerism at the school in an article titled “Volunteering makes a difference.” This piece discussed the Student Volunteerism and Community Engagement department at the college, which hosts events both sustainability-related and not. The hope of this piece was to discuss the necessity of more awareness and more participation in these events if the school is to continue being recognized as a “Green College,” and, by proxy, a sustainable space. 

In order to see change, have the school recognized as a “Green College,” and enact our sustainable wants, voices must be heard, and actions must speak louder. Participation, whether through innovation or participation, is essential to pave a greener college campus. Do not just stay in-the-loop on this issue— take the step and get involved! 

There are currently no events listed on either the Office of Sustainability nor the Student Volunteerism and Community Engagement webpages, but that does not mean students should sit idly by! The  Office of Sustainability can be contacted by emailing sustainability@geneseo.edu, and likewise with the Student Volunteerism and Community Engagement department, by emailing cdemarco@geneseo.edu.