10 years at #1: COA named nation’s greenest college

“This recognition is a tribute to the whole COA community—our students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends, and partners—who turn ecological values into everyday practice,” says COA President Sylvia Torti. “It reflects decades of hands-on learning and institutional decisions that put stewardship first: COA became carbon-neutral in 2007 and we remain steadfast in our commitment to eliminate fossil fuel use by 2030. Together, we’re building the resilient, just futures our students are here to design.”

The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2026 Edition examines over 25 sustainability-related metrics using data from institutional surveys and student feedback, across hundreds of colleges nationwide. COA’s consistent top ranking reflects both quantitative measurements (energy, waste, infrastructure) and qualitative assessments of how deeply a culture of conservation pervades campus life.

Since becoming carbon-neutral in 2007, COA has consistently pushed further — investing in on-site renewables, increasing energy efficiency, managing waste and composting, embedding sustainability in curriculum and operations, promoting active student engagement, and collaborating with local partners in Bar Harbor and beyond.

Some highlights:

• Portion of campus energy from Maine renewables: 100%
• Amount of food waste diverted from the landfill: 99%
• Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction over past decade: 61% (40 metric tons of CO₂)
• Number of students who engage in sustainability-focused learning outcomes: 100%

COA’s students are not observers but active participants: many take part in on-campus energy audits, renovation projects, local conservation partnerships, sustainable food systems initiatives, and data-driven monitoring of ecosystems. These experiential learning experiences embody the college’s core philosophy: that education should engage with real world systems.

“COA students gain a quantitative and scientific understanding of sustainability: modeling systems, calculating efficiencies, participating in population censusing. Questions of sustainability are technical — but never solely. To truly understand sustainability and to make a difference, students must engage with ethics, history, culture, and the structures that have brought us to this moment,” says COA professor David Feldman.

“COA’s multidisciplinary curriculum allows students to study complex systems in all their complexity, unconstrained by disciplinary or departmental boundaries,” Feldman continues. “Students also have the opportunity to learn from and work on sustainability on campus and in communities in our backyard and across the globe. This combination of interdisciplinarity and community engagement is central to all we do at COA.”

College of the Atlantic is dedicated to human ecology—the study of humans’ relationships with the natural, built, and social world. Located in Bar Harbor, Maine, COA’s intentionally small, interdisciplinary environment encourages students to embed inquiry, community, and action in every facet of life as they work through their self-designed majors. The college’s commitment to sustainability is both philosophical and practical, guiding curriculum, operations, campus planning, and local engagement.