Introducing the “Sustainable 16”: America’s Premiere Universities and Colleges in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Practices

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enviance, Inc., in partnership with GreenBiz Group and Qualtrics, today announced the “Sustainable 16,” a collection of 16 colleges and universities that have demonstrated excellence in environmental academics and sustainability practices. The 16 schools are now in contention to be named “National Champion” in the Second Annual Environmental March Madness (#EnviroU) tournament.

“The judges chose the top 'Sustainable 16' schools from a competitive group of institutions, which all demonstrated commitment to the environment through both their environmental degree programs and on-campus initiatives”

The “Sustainable 16” are (alphabetically):

Arizona State University
Colorado State University
Emory University
George Mason University
Michigan State University
Middlebury College
Montana State University
Ohio State University
Rochester Institute of Technology
University of California Santa Barbara
University of Florida
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of the Pacific
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Madison

“The judges chose the top 'Sustainable 16' schools from a competitive group of institutions, which all demonstrated commitment to the environment through both their environmental degree programs and on-campus initiatives,” said Lawrence Goldenhersh, CEO and president of Enviance, and a tournament judge. “All of the participating schools are grooming future environmental leaders who will oversee the environmental compliance, sustainability and corporate social responsibility programs of tomorrow for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and other organizations. We've already been very impressed with the level of enthusiasm from all those that submitted in the first round and are excited to see what the 'Sustainable 16' submit for further evaluation to determine the ‘National Champion.’”

Tournament Methodology

The Environmental March Madness Tournament was designed to evaluate colleges and universities on environmental degree programs and curriculum, environmental opportunities for students, and campus sustainability efforts. Each participating school completed a survey covering factors including internship opportunities, environmental awareness campaigns, clean energy implementations, and a variety of other considerations.

Each submission was then evaluated by our panel of distinguished judges. The combined recommendations of those judges then determined the “Sustainable 16.”

Judges for this year’s tournament are:

Jonathan Camuzeaux, research analyst, Office of Economic Policy and Analysis, Environmental Defense Fund
Rich Dailey, senior director, Environmental Health & Safety, Walmart
Lara Ettenson, director of California Energy Efficiency Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council
Larry Goldenhersh, CEO, Enviance
Tom Vander Ark, education expert, author and executive director, Getting Smart
Amy Westervelt, contributor, Forbes
Blair Wimbush, vice president, real estate and corporate sustainability officer, Norfolk Southern

For “Sustainable 16” schools to move on to the “Environmental Eight,” “Finest Four,” and to the “National Champion” title, Enviance is encouraging faculty and students to support their entries with short essays, social media or video submissions on why they should be named “National Champion.” The submissions will be accepted from today through Monday, March 8, 2013. The “Environmental Eight” will be announced on Monday, March 22.

Tournament Prizes

The tournament will award $5,000 to the environmental and sustainability department of the “National Champion,” and send the department chair or member of the faculty on an all-expenses-paid trip to San Diego to attend the Enviance User Conference, April 22-26, 2013. While there, the winner will lead a panel on educating future environmental professionals.

Furthermore, two students with the most compelling supporting materials and tournament participation will be awarded Google Nexus tablets. Any participating student from the “Finest Four” is eligible for this prize.

For more information on the Environmental March Madness Tournament, please email Enviance@schwartzmsl.com, or visit http://www.enviance.com/march-madness. You can also receive real-time updates on Twitter by following @enviance and #EnviroU.

About Enviance

Enviance is the leading provider of Environmental ERP software, with more than 17,000 users in 49 countries. Our comprehensive solutions have been developed, tested and proven by serving the world’s leading corporations and government organizations for over a decade. As the world business community faces increasing sustainability challenges, Enviance Environmental ERP solutions enable organizations to measure, manage, report environmental performance and compliance needs. The Enviance system leverages cloud computing technology to deliver its Environmental ERP platform online in real-time—anytime, anywhere and enterprise-wide. Founded in 1999, privately held Enviance is based in Carlsbad, California. For additional information, visit http://www.enviance.com.

About GreenBiz Group

GreenBiz Group defines and accelerates the business of sustainability. GreenBiz Group is an integrated media company focused on supporting professionals who view sustainable practices as a core part of their businesses. GreenBiz is focused on telling the stories, providing the insights and advancing the sustainability profession through GreenBiz.com, GreenBiz Events, GreenBiz Intelligence, and GreenBiz Connects. For additional information, visit www.greenbiz.com.

About Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a worldwide leader in enterprise data collection and analysis with a survey-based platform that is easy enough for an intern, but sophisticated enough for a Ph.D. Global organizations use Qualtrics software to make better decisions based on strategic research intelligence. Qualtrics has more than 4,600 clients worldwide, including half of the Fortune 100, more than 1,300 colleges and universities, and 95 of the top 100 business schools. For a free trial account, visit Qualtrics.com.