The Green Events program provides guidance and resources to improve the sustainability of events on the UW–Madison campus. The program aims to reduce the environmental impacts of events by focusing on six major categories: Venue, Décor, Communications, Transportation, Food, and Waste.
For more information, please contact greenevents@g-groups.wisc.edu
Certification Checklist
Begin by completing the Green Event certification survey checklist to evaluate your event’s current sustainability score.
There are four possible certification levels based on your score:
- Bronze (50-65%)
- Silver (65-80%)
- Gold (80%+)
- Platinum (Gold certification & two Platinum Checklist action items)
If you’re unsure about any of the questions, please leave them blank or utilize the notes spaces provided to communicate any uncertainties or additional questions you might have for our team. We’re here to help!
If you need assistance with specific checklist items or are aiming for platinum certification, please reach out to us at greenevents@g-groups.wisc.edu.
After completion of this survey, a member of the Green Events team will reach out to discuss next steps in the certification process.
Here is a PDF of the checklist if you are interested in reviewing possible action items but are not ready to get an event certified.
2022-2023 Academic Year Green Events
Platinum
- Sustainability Symposium, Office of Sustainability – October 26, 2022
Gold
- Convocation Cookout, UW-Housing – September 6, 2022
- Sustain-a-Bash, UW-Housing – September 16, 2022
- WEI Kid Wind 2023, WEI – March 4, 2023
- OGRAIN Conference, OGRAIN – January 26-28, 2023
- Nelson Institute Earth Day, Nelson Institute – April 18, 2023
- WEI Climate Justice Teach In, WEI – April 25, 2023
- Empowering Youth for a Brighter Future, Nelson Institute and Office of Sustainability – April 22, 2023
Silver
- Breakfast with Bucky, All Campus Party Wisconsin Alumni Student Board – April 24, 2023
- Lake St Bash, All Campus Party Wisconsin Alumni Student Board – April 28, 2023
Bronze
- Nelson Winter Grad Celebration, Nelson Institute – December 15, 2022
Past Green Events
STARS Announcement Ceremony, Office of Sustainability – October 7, 2019
Earth Day Conference, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies – April 22, 2019
Discovery Expo, Wisconsin Science Festival – October 17-20, 2019
Wellness Symposium, Office of Human Resources – October 23, 2019
Networking Event, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies – October 23, 2019
Wellness Symposium, Office of Human Resources – October 23, 2018
UW–Madison Advising Conference, Office of Undergraduate Advising – February 26, 2019
Great World Texts, Center for the Humanities – April 8, 2019
Office Professionals Conference, Office of Human Resources – April 24, 2019
WAEE Annual Conference, Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education – November 15, 2019
UW–Madison Advising Conference, Office of Undergraduate Advising – February 26, 2020
Environmental Justice in Multispecies Worlds: Land, Water, Food; The Center for Culture, History, and Environment – March 6-8, 2020
Great World Texts, Center for the Humanities – March 9, 2020
Board of Visitors Meeting, Global Health Institute – October 10, 2019
About Our Work
The Green Events team was accepted to present a poster for the second annual UW–Madison Sustainability Symposium hosted by the Office of Sustainability and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
The Green Events team strives to advance the Three Pillars of Sustainability in every certified event
Environmental Sustainability: practices that keep our ecosystems healthy and protect natural resources for future generations
Economic Sustainability: practices that support long-term economic growth without negatively impacting social, environmental, and cultural aspects of the community
Social Sustainability: practices that support socially sustainable communities, which are equitable, diverse, connected, and democratic, and provide a good quality of life