“Finest Four” Colleges and Universities Advance to Final Round of Environmental March Madness Tournament

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enviance, Inc., in partnership with GreenBiz Group and Qualtrics, today announced the “Finest Four” colleges and universities in the Second Annual Environmental March Madness tournament (#EnviroU). The four schools advanced to this round from the “Environmental Eight,” by impressing the panel of expert judges with their demonstrated excellence in environmental academics and sustainability practices, evident in the photos, essays and videos submitted by faculty and students. These schools are now competing to be named the “National Champion” on April 9.

“Each of the schools advancing to the ‘Finest Four’ has a rock-solid academic curriculum for environmental/sustainability studies, and has demonstrated the ability to inspire a new generation of environmental professionals by combining their curriculum with innovative initiatives that capture the passion and imagination of their students, faculty and administrators”

The “Finest Four” are (alphabetically):

Colorado State University
George Mason University
Ohio State University
University of Washington

“Each of the schools advancing to the ‘Finest Four’ has a rock-solid academic curriculum for environmental/sustainability studies, and has demonstrated the ability to inspire a new generation of environmental professionals by combining their curriculum with innovative initiatives that capture the passion and imagination of their students, faculty and administrators,” said Lawrence Goldenhersh, CEO and president of Enviance, and a tournament judge. “From beehives to waste diversion to rain gardens, the student submittals – supported by faculty and staff – powerfully demonstrate that these institutions are priming their students to bring their ‘A game’ to the important task of solving the most pressing environmental and sustainability issues affecting our economy and society today. While the charge to the ‘National Champion’ title in the Environmental March Madness tournament is intense, the submissions make it clear the environmental programs these schools offer will make us all winners in the years to come.”

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. To move on to the “Finest Four,” the “Environmental Eight” were evaluated on their initial survey, as well as the second round of supplementary essays, videos and photos submitted by students and faculty.

Survey data reveals winning sustainability habits from the “Finest Four”

While each school in the “Sustainable 16” has implemented on-campus sustainability initiatives, the “Finest Four” excelled in every category taken into consideration.

Sustainability highlights from the “Finest Four”:

Food — All four schools offer local food in their cafeterias and run on-campus gardening or farming programs.
Waste and water management — All have composting programs and established efforts for solid waste recycling and water recycling or conservation in place.
Transportation — Each of the four schools maintains a fleet of electric vehicles and two provide a bike share program.
Energy — The majority of finalists have solar thermal and/or solar panel installations as well as biomass energy facilities on campus and purchase renewable energy from local utilities.

Tournament prizes include a $5,000 grant for the winning school as well as one all-expenses-paid trip to San Diego for a faculty member to attend and speak at the Enviance User Conference, April 22-26, 2013. Additionally, two students from the “Finest Four” will also be awarded Google Nexus tablets.

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 leading global provider of enterprise data collection and analysis products for market research, voice of customer, employee performance, and academic research. Through an intuitive, easy-to-use interface and award-winning services and support, Qualtrics products enable both professional and DIY researchers to conduct quantitative research at a lower cost and in less time than competing alternatives. Founded in 2002, Qualtrics has more than 5,000 clients worldwide, including half of the Fortune 100, over 1,300 colleges and universities, and 95 of the top 100 business schools. For a free trial account, visit http://success.qualtrics.com/request-free-trial-enviance.html