For the sixth year in a row, the American University in Cairo has been selected in the Princeton Review 2022 of the top environmentally responsible Green Colleges Guide.
Along with the 420 green universities that were evaluated according to their institutional commitment to the environment and sustainability, The American University in Cairo fared well once again.
The assessment included 4 universities from outside the United States, including the American University in Cairo and a university from Canada, Ecuador and Greece.
Yasmine Mansour, director of the Office of Sustainability at the AUC, said: “This year we made progress in the Princeton Green Colleges Guide Review– scoring 98 out of 99 in this year’s assessment compared to our previous assessment of 94 out of 99.”
She added: “This ranking demonstrates the university’s role as a global and regional leader in sustainability. We hope to continue implementing policies and programs that reinforce our commitment to maintaining an environmentally friendly enterprise.”
Rob Franek, review editor, noted that in a survey conducted by Princeton Review in 2021, 78 percent of the 11,000 undergraduate students expressed an interest in universities with green practices – an increase of 12 percent.
AUC is committed to sustainable practices through a variety of international measures. The Office of Sustainability keeps detailed data about the energy consumption on campus.
Every month, the Energy and Resource Conservation and Efficiency Committee meets to discuss energy consumption trends and brainstorms ideas on how to reduce the demand.
The university has full waste-sorting stations in the most frequented locations on campus, with plastic, cans and other trash options. AUC is also committed to providing more sustainable transportation options for its community members.
To conserve water, the university uses treated wastewater to irrigate its landscape.
AUC is also the first higher education institution in the Middle East and North Africa to calculate its own carbon footprint, the annual total of carbon dioxide and other significant greenhouse emissions emitted into the atmosphere due to daily activities and campus operations at AUC New Cairo.
AUC has been releasing its annual carbon footprint report since 2012.
AUC’s commitment to sustainability extends to its educational mission as well, making AUC the first University in the Middle East and North Africa region to offer a Masters of Science in Sustainable Development with a focus on sustainability and green technologies.
The university is also home to the Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), a hub for advancing sustainable development and combating climate change in Egypt and the region.
