SAN DIEGO -- UC San Diego was ranked among the nation's 26 greenest campuses in the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card, it was announced Thursday.

UCSD received an overall grade of "A-" -- the highest ranking awarded in the report card and an achievement shared with only 25 other campuses nationwide, according to the university.

"Our campus is off to a great start, and we will continue to aggressively pursue our goal to be among the world's greenest campuses," said Russell Thackston, UCSD's assistant vice chancellor of auxiliary and plant services.

In the report, UCSD is credited for serving organic food in its dining halls, strong student involvement in sustainability initiatives and for its fleet of hybrid cars.

The report is prepared by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Sustainable Endowments Institute, which is funded through several environmental foundations.

Its ranking of 332 colleges and universities was based on such categories as administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation, endowment transparency and investment priorities.