The European Commission is reviewing its biomass sustainability criteria after recent developments in international policy and commerce. The EC notes that biomass use is increasing in the EU and that further growth is anticipated, mostly due to imports of wood chips and pellets from North America and Russia. Bioenergy consumption could more than double in the EU between 2005 and 2020, with heating and cooling its most important categories. The EC will decide by this December whether to adopt binding, EU-level sustainability criteria for biomass management.

The Princeton Review has released the second annual edition of its free guidebook listing green colleges. Working in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council, the free Guide to 311 Green Colleges profiles 308 schools in the U.S. and three in Canada that exhibit commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation. In addition, USGBC has launched its Center for Green Schools to increase its efforts to drive change in how campuses and schools are designed, constructed, and operated.

For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com

Video source: CSR Minute: European Commission Reviews Sustainability Criteria for Biomass Energy; Princeton Review Publishes Guide to 311 Green Colleges