University of Wisconsin–Madison
In February 2024, Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin announced a university-wide environmental sustainability initiative centered around five goals: launching the Sustainability Research Hub to accelerate interdisciplinary research and external collaboration; attaining STARS Gold as a framework to drive cross-campus involvement; creating widely accessible sustainability educational experiences for all interested students; becoming a zero waste campus through improved systems, engagement, and materials management; and …
In February 2024, Chancellor Mnookin announced a groundbreaking commitment to sustainability. Mnookin laid out five goals across fields of sustainability that will guide UW–Madison over the next two decades: achieve net-zero emissions by 2048, create a zero-waste campus by 2040, achieve STARS Gold by 2025 through cross-campus involvement, foster sustainability education, and catalyze sustainability research. …
The UW–Madison Office of Sustainability has created an interactive dashboard where users can explore trends, engage with sustainability data, and track the university’s progress. The dashboard incorporates topics such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, affordability, sustainability research, and campus engagement. The goal of the Sustainability Dashboard is to display data that has been collected …
At the inaugural UW-Madison Sustainability Symposium, Josh Arnold presented a major pilot project that could allow UW–Madison to generate more renewable energy. “Our students, staff, faculty, and alumni—including many in this room—are demanding bold climate action now,” said Arnold, the Campus Energy Advisor for the Office of Sustainability. “Producing electricity using renewable energy such as …
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has earned the Bee Campus USA Certification, making it one of 140 Bee Campus Affiliates nationwide. Bee Campus USA, an initiative of the Xerces Society, “…provides a framework for campus communities to work together to conserve native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the …
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has completed its second comprehensive sustainability report through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), which is administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). UW–Madison earned a Silver rating for its efforts to steward resources and advance sustainability education and research. The updated STARS …
On October 7, 2021, UW–Madison was designated as a Fair Trade University, making it just the second school in the Big Ten to attain this status, as well as the third within the UW System. The Fair Trade designation is administered by Fair Trade Campaigns (FTC), a grassroots organization that began in the U.K. by …
UW–Madison has been included in The Princeton Review Green Colleges and the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools, which are resources used by prospective students who are interested in finding schools with exemplary commitments to the environment and sustainability. This is the first time that UW–Madison has been featured in either resource, a testament to its sustainability …
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received recognition for cutting-edge water and energy saving initiatives at the Charter Street Heating & Cooling Plant in the 2020 Sustainable Campus Index. A publication from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the Sustainable Campus Index highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from colleges and universities …