Pitt-Bradford recognized as green college by the Princeton Review
Third consecutive year being named an environmentally responsible campus
For the third year in a row, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has been named one of the nation's most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review®.
The education services company features Pitt-Bradford in its online resource, The Princeton Review’s annual Guide to Green Colleges: 2025 Edition, which was published earlier this week as part of Campus Sustainability Month, an international celebration by the Association of the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
The Princeton Review chose the schools in the guide based on a survey of administrators at nearly 600 colleges during the 2023-24 academic year and analyzed more than 25 survey data points, including uses of renewable energy, recycling and conservation programs, and the availability of an environmental studies program.
Pitt-Bradford, which earned a score of 87 out of 99, was one of only 35 Pennsylvania colleges and universities recognized. Additionally, Pitt-Bradford and the Pitt campus in Pittsburgh were the only two Pitt campuses recognized.
“All of us at Pitt-Bradford are committed to environmental sustainability and responsibility,” said Rick Esch, Pitt-Bradford’s president, “so much so that one of the major goals in our strategic plan is to pursue and promote environmentally sustainable practices to further enhance the beauty and functionality of our campus.”
One of the major initiatives that has contributed to that strategic plan goal was opening the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building, which houses several programs, including energy engineering technology and energy science and technology.
The Duke Building features a rooftop solar array – the largest in the University of Pittsburgh system – that has generated more than 60 megawatt hours of green electricity for the campus and provides more than 40% of the Duke Building’s electricity. Earlier this year, Pitt-Bradford received one of 22 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence for the solar array.
The Duke Building, which opened in January 2023, was built to the U.S. Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver-level certification standard. Once certified, the Duke Building will join Livingston Alexander House as the second LEED-certified building on campus and the third in McKean County.
Other green initiatives at Pitt-Bradford include installing more electric vehicle charging stations and resuming the campus’s sustainability committee.
In its profile on Pitt-Bradford, The Princeton Review cites the university’s sustainability committee, percentage of food budget spend on local and organic food (51%), transit passes, and indoor and secure storage for bicycles.
Part of Pitt-Bradford’s 491-acre campus is a wooded hillside used for hiking, mountain biking, and student laboratories and research in the environmental science, environmental studies and biology programs.
The Princeton Review has published its Guide to Green Colleges annually since 2010. Pitt-Bradford has also appeared on the list in 2024, 2003 and 2016. Earlier this year, Pitt-Bradford was named to The Princeton Review’s Best Colleges: Region by Region for the 21st consecutive year.