University of Wisconsin–Madison
One of UW–Madison’s five institutional sustainability goals, first announced by Chancellor Mnookin in February 2024, is to reach net-zero emissions by 2048. Campus leadership set an interim target of 100% renewable electricity by 2030 as an important step on the path to this ambitious goal. Through a strategy that includes working with electric utilities, supporting …
A group of researchers from the UW–Madison Office of Sustainability, the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies have partnered with two student organizations to assess potential locations on campus that might be suitable for solar panels. “People frequently ask our office about rooftop solar,” said Josh Arnold, …
In our In Case You Missed It series (also known as ICYMI), student interns from the Office of Sustainability offer reflective reports on sustainability-related events and lectures at UW–Madison. The following entry is by a special guest, Anna Silverman, who is the Sustainability Co-Coordinator for the ASM Sustainability Committee. On October 12th and 13th, students, …
This article, by Monica Ridlon, is part of a series highlighting members of the Office of Sustainability’s Experts Database. In a collaboration with instructor Madeline Fisher’s course, LSC 561: Writing Science for the Public, students interviewed campus sustainability experts and produced short feature stories. In a society dependent on fossil fuels, how do we keep …
After years of collaboration with the Green Fund, several student organizations, and other local partners, the UW Arboretum celebrated the installation of a new solar array this spring. The event, "EmPOWERing Youth for a Brighter Future," brought together more than fifty high school and college students to discuss climate change and create community.
Although it manages arrival times, bus stops, repairs, signage, parking lots, road closures, permits, citations, and special event parking—all the tedious necessary aspects of public transit— Transportation Services also creates experiences. It may seem unusual to consider standing at a bus stop an experience: waiting, pacing, thumbing one’s smartphone, looking for the next ride. But …
UW–Madison ranked among the top 30 college and university partners of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. In order to be included on this list, “organizations must use green power at a level that meets or exceeds the partnership benchmark requirements and agree to update EPA on their green power use annually.” You can read more …
Josh Cook, UW–Madison Geological Engineering class of 2015, became interested in renewable energy while participating in a summer intensive Mandarin language program in China. He lived in Tianjin, a city of over 15 million people, and also had the chance to visit Beijing and Shanghai, each of which has over 20 million residents. “These cities …
In our “Where Are They Now?” series, current student interns interview former interns about their experience at the Office of Sustainability, and in particular how that experience has helped them since graduation. In the following entry, Hannah Kasun relates her conversation with Elisa Guerrero. Elisa Guerrero was a student intern with the UW–Madison Office of …