University of Wisconsin–Madison
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 …
What does environmental injustice mean, and how does it manifest in Madison? How does one create an activist campaign to address climate change? Let’s say you tear your favorite jeans—how do you stitch them up and avoid sending them to the landfill? Or say you’re a new student at UW–Madison—how do you get involved in …
As spring returns to campus, UW–Madison has another reason to look forward to sunny weather. Following a year of research, project development, partnership building, and coordination, the Gordon Dining & Event Center now features a solar array on its roof that is projected to produce 42,800 kWh of electricity a year, or the energy use …
On January 16th, Facilities Planning & Management hosted a Mid-Winter Celebration for the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor and Facility Planning & Delivery. Campus Planning & Landscape Architecture’s Aaron Williams led the charge in “greening” this event, in cooperation with the Office of Sustainability. In addition, Lakeshore Nature Preserve staff Bryn Scriver, Adam Gundlach, …
At UW–Madison, heating and cooling is all about water. Libraries, offices, dorms, dining halls, hospitals, and other campus locations must be kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Meanwhile, sensitive spaces like operating rooms and research labs require precise, steady temperatures. None of this would be possible without a constant flow of …
Food systems are one of the cornerstones of sustainability. That word “systems” is key: the food we eat is part of a vast, interconnected web. To make food sustainable, then, we have to pay attention to its whole lifespan: from production, to consumption, and beyond. Food waste is a big piece of that “beyond.” It’s …
It’s easy to recognize a gathering of Facilities Planning & Management staff: just look at the clothing. Sporting everything from suits and sweaters to steel-toed work boots and neon green tee shirts, FP&M employees came together at the Gordon Dining and Event Center on August 21st for the FP&M Employee Recognition Awards. They shared refreshments …
UW–Madison has a special relationship to the lakes of the Yahara watershed. Situated on the shores of Lake Mendota, which constitutes one side of the iconic isthmus that defines the Madison cityscape, the university has long supported green initiatives that ensure that the Yahara watershed is clean and healthy. Stormwater runoff to the lakes is …