University of Wisconsin–Madison
Are you curious about food waste and composting on campus? Maybe you’ve noticed compost collection bins are in some locations around UW, but not everywhere. The University of Wisconsin–Madison has been working on securing sustainable solutions to campus food scraps and food waste since 2009. From an initial pilot project to exploring anaerobic digestion and …
The Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N) awarded Andrea Hicks the 2025 Faculty of the Year award
In February 2024, UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin announced an ambitious set of environmental goals for campus. While several of these efforts focused on facilities and infrastructure, they also prioritized the teaching and research mission of the university. From there, the Sustainability Research Hub was born. A little over a year later, the team is …
The UW–Madison Office of Sustainability is proud to announce the expansion of the My Green Lab Certification Program. My Green Lab® is a globally recognized organization working to advance sustainability in scientific research. The 2025-2026 UW–Madison program is available to the first 50 laboratories who sign up, with registration closing on August 15th, 2024.
There’s a certain magic to Madison in May. Campus exhales, nature shows off, and for a few weeks, the whole city seems to shift. It’s graduation season, and peak spring migration. And while the spotlight tends to fall on those moving on, it’s also a good time to notice who’s passing through. Each spring and …
Imagine a meal from your favorite restaurant. Now imagine one-third of it sitting in a truck, heading to a waste facility. This is the reality for most eating establishments. A large quantity of a restaurant’s most ordered food is prepared at the beginning of the day, and the portions that are not sold are wasted. …
With spring right around the corner, the Office of Sustainability Education & Outreach Team has compiled a list of environmental books to welcome a new season filled with growth, warmth, and cultivation. Literature plays a vital role in building community, engaging diverse perspectives, and inspiring action to build a more sustainable world. Here is a …
It is the year 2010 and Chris Kucharik, a professor of agronomy and environmental studies at UW–Madison, is talking to a bunch of farmers in rural Wisconsin about a not-so-hot topic: climate change. The town hall meetings are typical Dairyland: brats, beer, and agriculture talk. At the time, the Midwest was experiencing the wettest decade …
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has deployed four state-of-the-art AI recycling assistants called “Oscar Sort” (“Oscars”) across campus, marking an exciting step in the university’s commitment to sustainable operations, education, and research. The Oscars, which use technology developed by the company Intuitive AI, combine waste bins with interactive, digital displays that are designed to make waste …
This essay, by Lily Smogor, is one of three winners of the 2024 Sustainability Writing Awards hosted by the Office of Sustainability. You can read more about Lily here. The twin mesas rise together at the end of the road. They wear a skirt of juniper and yucca, the pinkish-orange rock peeking through only slightly until the …