Columbia students support critical sustainability work, applying what they are mastering in their course of study to on-campus operations.
There’s no better time than the present to... clean! Cleaning your office or living space creates more space and can also help the environment. Columbia University Facilities and Operations and our partners across campus want to help. As part of our award-winning “Clean + Go Green” program, we will make large bins available across the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses at no cost to you for the recycling, reuse, or proper disposal of large, unwanted items. Best of all, Facilities and Operations will separate and recycle your items. That way, when you clean, you “go green.”
As part of Columbia University's Campus as Lab (CAL) initiative, a team of Mechanical Engineering students in the Energy Track at the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) conducted an assessment of opportunities for vertical solar panel installation on Columbia’s Morningside Campus with the help of Professor Vijay Modi’s lab.
Image Carousel with 5 slides
A carousel is a rotating set of images. Use the previous and next buttons to change the displayed slide
-
Slide 1: Samreen Afzal and Vicki Dunn speak on stage
-
Slide 2: Representatives from NYU and Columbia pose for a photo
-
Slide 3: The audience listens to the speaker on stage
-
Slide 4: A waiter passes out plant-based appetizers
-
Slide 5: Fried artichokes are passed around
During Earth Week, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy hosted signatories from its Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge (PPCC) for an anniversary event. Columbia, among the first signatories for the program, presented a case study detailing accomplishments and challenges from its first full year of participation.
As part of Earth Week 2025, the Office of Sustainability and Columbia Climate School co-hosted their annual Earth Month Showcase.
Every year, groups and individuals across Columbia celebrate Earth Day as a moment to reflect on the importance of appreciating and protecting our planet and natural resources, as well as an opportunity to plan for the future. This year, the Office of Sustainability and student sustainability clubs across campus hope to combine efforts in one campus-wide Earth Week. There will be various activities and workshops throughout the week hosted by individual clubs, culminating in a panel on Friday as a collaboration between student sustainability leaders and Columbia University. The panel theme is “Rooting…
Hear from Climate and Sustainability leaders as they share updates on Columbia's sustainability progress, and celebrate student research with the Spring Research Showcase poster session.
Columbia has taken significant strides in reducing food-related carbon emissions in its first complete year of PPCC participation. The University seeks to achieve a 25% reduction in food-related emissions by 2030.
Columbia University’s Office of Sustainability is expanding opportunities for students to engage in real-world sustainability projects through its Campus as Lab (CAL) initiative.
Meanwhile, travel by fuel combustion engine vehicles is on the decline. Public Transit remains on top.
We asked Jim some questions about how his work incorporates sustainability and contributes to Columbia’s net zero goal.