NEW YORK, NY June 07, 2007 —Nine universities in the city have committed to the reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2017. That's faster than the city itself, which has until 2030 to achieve the same goal.

REPORTER: George Campbell is the president of Cooper Union, which is working on a green building. He said the school's commitment to sustainability goes back to its founder.

CAMPBELL: Back in 1859, when our first building was built, Peter Cooper had the vision to ask that we have a green roof on that building that would collect rain water and re-use it and so on.

REPORTER: Unfortunately for Peter Cooper, the trustees rejected his idea. Other schools to take Bloomberg's challenge include New York University, Pratt, Fordham, the New School and Columbia.