UNC checks in at No. 39 on the newly released Sierra Club “Cool Schools” annual sustainability report.

The rankings are compiled of the top 200 colleges and universities nationwide when comparing the institutions’ commitment to sustainability.

Carolina scored well in varying categories, including innovation, co-curricular activities, planning, food and water. UNC officials attribute the high scores to the efforts on the Chapel Hill campus to reduce water use by 12 percent while the campus has grown by 7.3 million square feet since 2000.

Carolina also touts the Three Zeros Initiative as a reason for the accolades. The initiative calls for the campus to move toward water neutrality, zero waste and greenhouse gas neutrality.

Other efforts on campus, including the student-founded Edible Campus project also helped solidify UNC’s placement in the rankings.

UNC chief sustainability officer and associate vice chancellor for campus enterprises Brad Ives said the university has a lot more to do in its efforts to cut waste and emissions.

“Continuing to transform UNC-Chapel Hill into a living-learning laboratory for sustainability will be a journey, and we’re only just beginning. While we have already positioned Carolina as a sustainability leader among our peers, we are ready to embrace a host of new, sustainability-related opportunities by building upon our unique culture of service and innovation.”

The rankings were based off of data from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education which is then scored across questions from the Sierra Club, according to a release.

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