Columbia University advanced its strategy for clean, renewable energy with a purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) for off-site wind generation, continued use of hydropower, and new investment in solar power. As a result, Columbia achieved 100% renewable, zero emissions for reported electricity in 2018 for the Morningside, Manhattanville, Irving Medical Center, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Nevis, and Baker Athletics Complex campuses. With a 47% reduction in absolute GHG emissions at the Morningside campus, Columbia has exceeded its goal of cutting emissions by 35 percent over 2006 levels by 2020.
With a 47 percent reduction in absolute GHG emissions at the Morningside campus, Columbia has exceeded its goal of cutting emissions by 35 percent over 2006 levels by 2020.
The first ever Campus Sustainability Fair brought members of all Columbia campuses to The Forum – Columbia’s newest LEED Gold certified building – for a day of celebration, networking, and learning about sustainability.
Columbia University has been selected as a Clean Air NY Campus Partner, an honor given to institutions of higher education who go above and beyond to encourage and facilitate their communities to carpool, take public transit, bike, or walk to campus.
For the second year running, Columbia University will observe Earth Hour on Saturday, March 30 at 8:30 p.m. along with other universities, cities, and businesses in more than 180 countries worldwide.
Columbia University achieved Climate Registered™ status by measuring its carbon footprint according to The Climate Registry’s (TCR) best-in-class program, then having it third-party verified and publicly reporting the data on TCR’s website.
For the third time in a row, Columbia University has earned a STARS Gold rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Facilities and Operations is holding the next Clean + Go Green Event at the Morningside campus from Thursday December 6 to Friday December 7, 2018. We will make large bins available across campus, at no cost to you, for the recycling, reuse or proper disposal of large unwanted items.
The New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3) awarded Columbia University with the Recycling Leadership Award for our efforts over the past year to promote recycling, composting, and other initiatives to reduce waste to landfill.
The League of American Bicyclists has honored Columbia with a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly University award in recognition of the institution’s achievements in promoting and enabling safe, accessible bicycling on campus.
Sustainable commuters were celebrated at the 2nd Annual Bike Champions Recognition Breakfast on October 25, 2018 on College Walk at the Morningside campus.
More Columbia commuters are choosing sustainable travel options to get to and from campus, according to the results of Columbia Transportation’s 2018 Commute and Travel survey. The last time the survey was distributed in 2016, 2.8 percent of students and 16.2 percent of staff answered that they drive alone to campus. In 2018, those numbers decreased to 1.7 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively.
Check out the Fall 2018 update on Columbia University's Environmental Sustainability.
On Tuesday, October 2, Sustainable Columbia parked one of its new electric buses on College Walk to raise awareness about its initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from intercampus travel.