Olympia, WA: Model college

The Evergreen State College is like a model eco-conscious town: All of the Olympia, Washington-based college’s electricity comes from 100% renewable energy sources; it has LEED-certified buildings with features such as living roofs and solar panels; its landscaping is herbicide-free; and a dining room serves produce harvested from the school’s organic farm.

And that’s just the tip of it.

Since September 2008, the college has reduced its landfill waste by more than 97,000 pounds by expanding its composting efforts. And by the time they graduate, more than 70% of Evergreen students will have done community service and volunteer work to help the poor, feed the hungry, or improve the environment.