Ms. Chapple-Brown says the school also offers one hundred forty different classes in sustainability and the environment.

The university is investing about two million dollars in green efforts. Officials say they are already seeing lower costs for water and energy use.

Sophie Waskow from the Sustainably Office points to a rainwater collection system on a building where students live.

SOPHIE WASKOW: "This is a rain barrel and it is connected to a down spout from the roof of this residence hall."

The rainwater is used to help water campus grounds. Collecting it also reduces runoff of storm water to the nearby Potomac River.

The Sustainable Endowments Institute is a research and education group. It says most high school students consider a college’s environmental performance when choosing schools. Executive Director Mark Orlowski says colleges have moved quickly to write green building policies.

MARK ORLOWSKI: "We see numbers like less than twenty percent of schools having a green building policy five years ago, and now upwards of eighty percent of schools having a policy, that states that their new buildings will be built in a green fashion."

George Washington University is located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington. Some neighbors say that while GW is trying to be friendlier to the environment, it could also be a better friend to the neighborhood. The school has expanded repeatedly and there have been tensions between students and local residents.