Green dorms are popping up on college campuses nationwide—and we aren’t talking mold. Add “LEED-certified buildings” to the ways colleges are increasingly focused on sustainability, in addition to things like green-themed degrees and organic cafeteria food. LEED certification, awarded to buildings meeting U.S. Green Building Council standards, has become the nationally accepted measurement of green design. Take a look at innovative and ecologically creative housing options cropping up on campuses across the country.

Harvard not only has LEED certified graduate housing, but a university-wide commitment to sustainable building practices and campus operations. The student housing is designed with renewable bamboo flooring, low VOC (volatile organic compound) finishes, regionally sourced building materials with high recycled content, and of course, energy efficiency strategies that have reduced use in one building by 42 percent.

Stanford’s Lotus Living Laboratory is estimated to have reduced its energy consumption by 20 percent through efficient building design, passive heating and cooling techniques, shower water heat recovery, solar panels, gray- and blackwater recycling, and low-flow bathroom fixtures.

Tufts’ Sophia Gordon Hall has reduced both its energy and water use by 30 percent, thanks to green features like solar hot water heaters, motion-activated lights and dual-flush toilets in the bathrooms, and louvered glass windows to help maintain comfortable temperatures both in summer and winter.

The University of New Hampshire (Durham)’s Congreve Hall is one of four dorms that were first to receive the EPA’s Energy Star rating. These energy-efficient buildings save UNH more than $100,000 per year in energy bills and prevent pollution equal to that created by 130 cars in a year.

The Oaks apartments of Meredith College in North Carolina have earned LEED Silver certification despite more traditional architecture. The new designs include superior air ventilation and water purification systems as well as non-toxic paints and carpeting. Other sustainable design elements include dual-flush toilets, water efficient landscaping (such as drip irrigation), construction materials made from recycled and locally sourced products, and exterior lighting designed to limit light pollution.

Duke boasts ownership of the Home Depot-sponsored Smart Home, a 10-student residence hall that has achieved the LEED Platinum standard for design, the first (but not the last) to claim this distinction. Along with rainwater cisterns, a roof of plants, and solar cells, the Smart Home was also constructed with recycled and sustainable building materials.

While not every student can live in one of these impressive examples of sustainable housing in action, the ideas that inspired their designs can be taken with you wherever you end up.

Image: Paco Seoane via Flickr

--Rachel Tamigniaux