Sustainability is super important to us at Do Amore.

That’s why we manufacture our rings ethically and give water for two when we sell a ring.

Often, the leaders in sustainability are colleges and universities. With the budget for innovative programs and progressive and active student bodies, all the ingredients are there for eco-friendly innovation.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been chronicling the most eco-friendly colleges in the country – from the Midwest, to the West Coast, and all the way down South. This week, we’re ranking the top ten most eco-friendly East Coast colleges.

It’s no surprise that the East Coast harbors some of our most inspiring and innovative campus in the country. When it comes to sustainability, it’s no different.

The factors that went into ranking these East Coast colleges include surveys of students and faculty, awards and recognition, number and diversity of environmental programs, and eco-friendly campus policies. Without further ado, here are the top 10 most eco-friendly colleges on the East Coast:

PS We’re developing ethical class rings. If you have a student group or organization that would like to be involved with the pre-launch, please shoot us an email here 🙂

10. Bentley University

Bentley University, a private university in Waltham, Massachusetts, is a regional leader in sustainability and eco-friendly practices. Not only do they have a great sustainability science program, but they cultivate an atmosphere of eco-friendliness through their numerous waste diversion and energy conservation programs.

9. James Madison University

James Madison University is not only historic and beautiful, but it is a prime example of what a conscious student body and faculty can do in the name of sustainability. The school has brought a farmer’s market to campus as well as renovated their transportation system on campus. They’ve also expanded their renowned recycling and composting program. Finally, students are actively engaged in environmental activism, forming multiple popular clubs on campus like the E.A.R.T.H. Club.

8. Bryant University

Bryan University, though small, is an exceptional educational college with an inspiring focus on eco-friendliness. Located in ..They have built a 10 part framework that includes: academics, research, energy, buildings and land use, food and dining, transportation, supply chain management, and community engagement. They’ve got a silver rating from AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking and Rating System, and they offer over 40 classes related to sustainability.

7. Framingham State University

Sitting on a picturesque campus just 20 miles outside of Boston is Framingham State University. This school has come a long way in sustainability in the past few years. Since enacting their annual Climate Action plan, they’ve had some major accomplishments, including renovating 75% of their campus buildings to be more sustainable.

6. University of Vermont

The University of Vermont is known nationally for its green campus and sustainable practices – and with good reason. Sustainability is baked to the core at this quaint school in Burlington, Vermont. Their Office of Sustainability coordinates a variety of programs, including the epic Earth Day celebration each year and the popular Eco-Reps program.

5. Cornell University

Obviously a meritocratic academic institution, Cornell is also a leader in sustainability practices. To start, the school received a Gold rating in March 2014 from AASHE.org STARS, and they’ve been a Tree Campus USA campus since 2009. There are numerous well-funded resources for students and faculty interested in eco-friendly practices, including the Cornell University Sustainable Design, the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, and their numerous environmentally-focused courses.

4. Green Mountain College

Green Mountain College is a school that sounds eco-friendly – and it is. Located in the beautiful Poultney, Vermont, it is a tiny school with an enrollment of <1000. Still, the school is a leader in sustainability education, with numerous courses in environmental science as well as their Green MBA. They’ve got an ambitious sustainability action plan that is set to take course until 2020. They promote recycling, cycling, alternative energy use, a bottled water ban, and they’re proud of being members in the Eco League.

3. Dickinson College

Dickinson College is also a proud member of the Eco League. This school, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is a beacon of environmental friendliness. Through a variety of Center For Sustainability Education sponsored programs, the school is in full flourish with eco-friendly activities. Many students and staff also support the Dickinson College Organic Farm, which supplies the college’s dining hall with delicious and organic food. Overall, sustainability is a required attitude at Dickinson College, and as such, the school is helping to make the world a better, greener place.

2. Frostburg State University

Frostburg State University is a college of wonderful academics and a beautiful and sustainable campus. In 2007, they officially became a charter member of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. In addition, more than fifteen departments offer courses environmentalism, making it an academic leader in environmental science. Frostburg also recently opened its Sustainable Energy Research Facility to host variety of research projects.

1. American University

American University, located in our nation’s capital, is an academically renowned university that also excels in sustainable leadership. As such, they offer a Masters in Sustainability Management, in addition to hundreds of other environmentally-focused classes and degrees (~1,079 courses in 2012 by one estimate). In addition to their numerous environmental degrees, they also offer certificates for their Certificate Environmental Assessment and their Green Teaching Certificate program. Finally, almost every part of campus is touched by this remarkable attitude of eco-friendliness, from their green newsletter to earth month, from the Ecolympics to Green Graduation Pledge. American University is truly a national and world leader in college sustainability.

I think you’ll agree with me:

Sustainability is a hugely important issue. It’s why we at Do Amore only sell ethical rings. It’s why we made it our mission to provide water to those in need.

When it comes to eco-friendliness, colleges and universities are often leading the way. With a conscious student body and faculty, they often develop effective programs, events, and policies that change our world for the better.

So, we wanted to honor the schools that are doing the most to keep our world healthy and beautiful – starting with schools in the South. The factors that went into ranking these southern schools include surveys of students and faculty, number and diversity of environmental programs, and eco-friendly campus policies.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 most eco-friendly colleges in the south:

(Also, we’re going to be launching ethical class rings this fall. If you’re interested in purchasing one, partnering with us, or even just interested in our story, please shoot us an email!)

10. Florida State University

Though I can’t say I expected it, Florida State University is actually super environmentally friendly. In addition to their popular bike sharing program, ReCycle, they also encourage ride sharing, buses, and a free taxi service. FSU’s academic selections also reflect an increasing focus on eco-consciousness, offering more and more courses on social enterprise, environmental concerns, and sustainability.

9. Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina University, located in Conway, South Carolina, has one of the nation’s most impressive college sustainability programs, the Campus and Community Sustainability Initiative. Through a variety of programs and endeavors, they are “committed to transform Coastal Carolina University into an environmentally sustainable university through campus operations, student curriculum, engaging students through learning and outreach, and collaboration in the community through sustainable stewardship of resources.” This month they are presenting a variety of events for Earth Month.

8. Louisiana State University

With 70% of the campus maintained organically, Louisiana State University is a leading force of eco-friendliness in the south. Located in Baton Rouge, the school’s sustainability efforts are led by the LSU Campus Sustainability program, which provides education, outreach, and events to get students and faculty more involved in sustainability. The school also offer a Sustainability Management Certificate.

7. University of South Florida

Another Florida school hitting our list of sustainable colleges in the south, University of South Florida has a solid amount of eco-friendly programs in place, including bike sharing, smart parking, and and a variety of others from the Office of Sustainability. They’ve got a yearly green job fair, as well as campus wide events for Earth Day and Arbor day. There are also dozens of environmental student groups on campus like the Student Environmental Association.

6. University of Louisville

According to its website, “The University of Louisville is committed to integrating sustainability into everything we do – from how we manage our facilities, finances and people to what we teach in the classroom and what we research in the lab.” They prove this through a variety of programs, mainly spearheaded by their Sustainability Council. The school has a climate action plan with the grand goal to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

5. Georgia Southern University

Not only is Georgia Southern University’s campus beautiful, but it’s also surprisingly eco-friendly. Through their Center for Sustainability, they offer programs and outreach to incentivize students to get involved in research and volunteerism on campus. This is also one of only a handful of schools requiring students to complete a four-credit environmental science course to graduate.

4. Florida Atlantic University

Florida schools are dominating in sustainability. Hitting our list at #4 is a school located in Boca Raton, Florida Atlantic University. FAU’s Mission Green campaign offers campus sustainability, academic programs, practices, events, and outreach to keep their campus green and eco-friendly. They’re consistently educating the student populace with programs like they’re “Ink Cartridge Recycling Program.”

3. Warren Wilson College

It’s hardly a surprise that Warren Wilson College hits this list at #3. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina, which is beautiful, green, and eco-conscious itself. The school is entirely self-supporting, getting food from organic gardens and lumber from their own managed forests. All of their street lamps are solar powered as well.

2. Appalachian State University

About 2 hours northeast of Asheville, in Boone, North Carolina, lies our next school on this list: Appalachian State University. This beautiful mountain college has sustainability in its bones, as exhibited by their campus sustainability mission. They offer free mass transit, car sharing, and place an emphasis on bicycling, as well as offering sustainable farming and forestry classes.

1. Berea College

This tiny school in Berea, KY might just be the most eco-friendly school in the country, let alone our southern colleges list. Baking sustainability to its core, Berea College has been paving the way for year, claiming the first LEED-certified building in Kentucky. They have an ecovillage, community aquaphonics system, and a college farm and garden (which produces most of the school’s food). It’s hard to summarize the school’s environmental accomplishments in a paragraph, so I won’t try. Suffice to say that if it’s a program at Berea, it is eco-friendly and focused on sustainability. Check out their website here to learn more.

(Bonus: the school is tuition-free)

What do you think? Did we miss your eco-friendly school? Shoot us an email or comment to let us know!

The Top 10 Most Eco-Friendly Colleges – West

As a very socially conscious startup, we at Do Amore love to watch other organizations that are making a difference in the world. Colleges, often times, are leaders in this arena. As we profiled a few weeks ago in our article on eco-friendly colleges in the south, students and faculty are leading the way in sustainability, with programs, courses, majors, and organizations to keep our earth healthy. At Do Amore, we attempt to do the same thing: leave our world better than we found it (through ethical engagement rings and our Water for Two model).

So we want to profile the colleges that are doing this the best. The factors that went into ranking these western schools include surveys of students and faculty, awards and recognition, number and diversity of environmental programs, and eco-friendly campus policies. Without further ado, here are the top 10 most eco-friendly colleges in the west:

10. Oregon State University

Located in Corvallis, Oregon, OSU hits our list of most eco-friendly colleges in the west at #10 – and for good reason. The campus takes its sustainability seriously, winning the national RecycleMania competition by cutting its waste by 40%. They were also awarded the Green Power Leadership Award from the EPA. OSU is absolutely decked out in sustainability recognition, actually. Finally, they’ve got a ton of environmental majors, like Ecological Engineering.

9. Colorado State University

Colorado is a state that is known for its greenery, in more ways than one. Colorado State University embodies the eco-friendly brand of ‘green’ and does it well. In addition to their numerous LEED certified buildings on campus, CSU also has a 30-acre solar plant, which greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions on campus and generates the equivalent electricity to power 949 homes.

8. Central Washington University

At this Ellensburg, Washington campus, sustainability is baked to the core. Central Washington University has many environmentally-focused organizations – the Landscape Values Institute, the Center for Spatial Information, and the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute. The school offers many sustainability and environmental studies courses, and the campus is straight up green and beautiful.

7. Southern Oregon University

Through their environmental practices, environmental stewardship, and research that local and global environmental issues, Southern Oregon University is a great example of a top eco-friendly college. They developed a Green Fund that provides funding to students that take on sustainability projects on campus, with the eventual goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. They’ve also got a thick folder of sustainability-oriented classes that students can take.

6. California State University – Monterey Bay

Cal State Monterey Bay is another school with an ambitious carbon neutrality goal: they hope to achieve it by 2030. Plus, they’ve got a Climate Action Plan that explains step-by-step how they’re going to get there. All of their landscaping is done with drought resistant plants, which makes them rely on less water to make the campus beautiful (and it is a beautiful campus). They further reduced water consumption by installing waterless urinals and low flow toilets in new buildings

5. Evergreen State College

With Evergreen State College, sustainability is in their name. They practice eco-friendliness, too, and to an inspiring level: they plan on achieving carbon neutrality by 2020. To do this, they promote campus-wide recycling programs, enriching courses on environmental science and sustainability, and free bus passes for faculty and students. They’ve laid out all of their plans very transparently on their website.

4. Portland State University

Portland is known as one of the greenest cities in one of the greenest states in the country. So it’s no surprise that Portland State University hits our list at #4. Students are heavily involved in sustainability on campus and can choose to live in a Sustainability Living Learning Community. In addition, just by using the exercise equipments in the rec center, students generate clean energy. Through their research, education, and action, Portland State sets an example to be admired.

3. University of Alaska — Fairbanks

The University of Alaska – Fairbanks is about as far west as you can get, but it’s a beautiful campus with a sustainable track record. As a few other campuses have done, they eliminated food trays, which reduces food waste by 50% and results in 222,000 less trays washed annually. In addition, the UAF Office of Sustainability coordinates a large amount of events, education, research and volunteer efforts to keep campus green.

2. University of California – Santa Barbara

UC Santa Barbara is a fantastic school with a great sustainability track record. Since 2009, they’ve invest $14 million in energy efficiency. In addition, 90% of campus is irrigated with recycled water and 19.5 million gallons of drinking water are saved through their sustainable irrigation. In light of the California drought, their efforts do not go unnoticed and that’s why we’ve ranked them at #2.

1. Lewis and Clark College

Ahhh Portland! You magnificent city, you. In a city filled with active youth, progressive ideas, and beautiful outdoors, it’s no wonder that Lewis and Clark College takes #1 on our list of sustainable colleges. Their efforts do not go unnoticed, of course, as they were ranked as the #1 greenest college by the Princeton Review. they have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 percent over the last nine years. In addition, the school offers a variety of environmental-related programs, classes, and majors, and the Sustainability Council keeps its passionate students engaged, organized, and informed.