University of Wisconsin–Madison
For several years, a lively group of sustainability staff, faculty, and students has come together in the middle of the fall semester for the UW System Sustainability Conference. During these meetings, participants discuss best practices for sustainability initiatives, muddle over challenges, share successes, and identify opportunities for collaboration. This year, the UW–Madison Office of Sustainability …
Following on the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s recent STARS silver rating for campus sustainability, Chancellor Rebecca Blank has announced that UW–Madison will sign the Resilience Commitment administered by Second Nature. Chancellor Blank made her announcement at the Climate Fast Forward Conference in Madison on Nov. 8, 2019. Resilience refers to the ability of institutions, infrastructure, and …
In a ceremony on October 7, 2019, Chancellor Blank announced that the University of Wisconsin–Madison had been awarded a STARS silver rating for its sustainability performance. Read the full story here.
The Office of Sustainability has completed a major data gathering initiative and is currently soliciting input from the campus community to inform an exciting new effort. UW–Madison submitted its first Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report this summer, the results of which will be announced in October. With leadership and support from the …
If you had to guess the consumer material that causes the biggest sustainability headaches, what would you pick? For most, the answer would probably be plastic, and for good reason. Plastic is literally everywhere: on the highest mountains, in the deepest ocean trenches, in the atmosphere, even in your table salt. And because of the …
In 2017, University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate student Johnny Uelmen applied for the Green Fund—a program of the Office of Sustainability that awards money to student-developed projects that reduce the environmental impact and operating costs of campus buildings. Uelman was awarded close to $6,000 to support the installation of low-flow toilets in the University Housing Tripp …
Consider your average Monday morning: maybe you pick up a coffee on your way into campus. Later, you swing by College Library to pick up a book, and on your way out the door you take your final sip and then toss your cup in the bin—but which one? Sustainability professionals constantly wrestle with how …
Since early 2019, the Office of Sustainability (OS) has worked to identify, compile, and review data for UW–Madison’s first Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report. STARS, which is administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), is a transparent, self-reporting framework for measuring sustainability performance. From counting livestock …
Ally Magnin is a rising senior studying Environmental Sciences with a certificate in Sustainability. She is a member of the Green Events team, where she works to provide resources to make events across campus more sustainable. She is passionate about conserving our natural resources and minimizing the negative environmental impacts of individual people, as she …
For about two weeks in the middle of May, you can find University Housing Sustainability Coordinator Breana Nehls behind the wheel of an F-250 pickup truck, rumbling through narrow service driveways and parking alongside Move Out collection points at residence halls across campus. At each stop, she hops out to greet her volunteers, inspect their …