KAMLOOPS—Building on its success as the first Canadian university to receive platinum ranking for its leadership in sustainability, Thompson Rivers University is now also the Sierra Club of Canada’s top Cool School.

Today, the Sierra Club of Canada announced that Thompson Rivers University is Canada’s Coolest School, standing out from among 283 other colleges and universities throughout Canada and the US in such areas as sustainable energy, purchasing, public engagement, water, waste and buildings.

In recognizing TRU, the Sierra Club of Canada includes the STARS scores from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and then ranks schools according to the club’s own weighting criteria, based on its own priorities. The Sierra Club also includes a supplemental question about fossil fuel investments.

The Cool School status comes just a few days after AASHE listed TRU as the top master’s institution in its 2019 Sustainable Campus Index. TRU was number 1 in the energy category and tied with the University of Alberta for co-ordination and planning.

AASHE oversees a program that provides participating colleges and universities with a framework for measuring their sustainability performance. The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) is a global sustainability standard created by and for higher education institutions.

In fall of 2019, TRU achieved a platinum rating in STARS, making it the first university in Canada to achieve that status and one of only six in the world to reach that level.

For more information, please contact:

Jim Gudjonson
TRU Director of Environment and Sustainability
250-852-7253 | jgudjonson@tru.ca