Sustainability Gateway

Info  |   Events  |   UW  |   Campus  |   Corporate  |   Government  |   Non-Profit  |   Reporting

UW News

• October 24th. 2007 - University of Washington receives A- grade in sustainability. Click here for the article in UWeek.
  
• October 18th, 2007 - Green living in the green room: KUOW embraces composting. Click here for the article in UWeek.
  
• October 4th, 2007 - Greener Cleaning: New mops, fragrance-free soaps make debut with UW Custodial Services. Click here for the article in UWeek .
  
• July 5th, 2007 - Corn cutlery? Composting is growing at the University of Washington. Click here for the article in UWeek .
  
• June 4th, 2007 - University of Washington Copy Centers go green by switching to 100% post-consumer recycled copier paper. Click here for more information and new developments.
  
• February 8, 2006 - University of Washington to be Powered With 100% Renewable Energy
  Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, University of Washington President Mark
  Emmert and Seattle City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco today
  announced that the UW is now the largest purchaser of green power in
  Seattle. City of Seattle press release UWNews article
  
• President Emmert commits to Environmental Stewardship Policy for UW.
  
• November 30, 2005 - The Sierra Club, America's oldest and largest environmental organization, named the University of Washington Tacoma campus as one of America's Best New Development projects, according to a report the group released today. A profile of the Tacoma campus and other the winning projects can be viewed at http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/report05.
• September 22, 2005 - The University of Washington received official word from the US Green Building Council that Merrill Hall at the Center for Urban Horticulture has been awarded a LEED Silver Rating. The project achieved 36
  LEED credit points.
• Green Event Planning Guide for Duke University (pdf format - suggestions also applicable to events at other campuses) After spending a lot of time finding resources to help her reduce the environmental impact of events she was organizing, Julie Rhodes of Duke University put this guide together to save others from having to reinvent the wheel.
• The University of Washington is among the businesses that are included in 2005's BEST (Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow) Awards Winners. The awards celebrate notable "green" achievements by companies in the Greater Seattle area. UW received the Water Conservation Award as well as the Mayor's Environmental Leadership Award.
• New roles for universities in sustainability efforts continue to emerge. For example, Arizona State University received a $15 million gift to establish an International Institute For Sustainability to address regional and global environmental threats.
• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education seeks to transform curriculum and operations at nine universities in the Puget Sound region. It will bring together campuses and provide resources needed to implement sustainability projects that will have benefits for their campuses and communities.
• UW Capital Projects Office has new Sustainability webpage. Check here for UW LEED projects.

Sustainable UW

As part of the Sustainability Gateway, this page connects to information and resources on sustainability related courses, research units, and organizations at the University of Washington Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses. Links are also included to administrative and student initiatives to promote sustainable practices at the university.

• Administrative Actions and Reports
• Student Organizations
• Academics, Research, and Outreach
• Sustainability Courses Offered

Policy

• Environmental Stewardship at the University of Washington: This document has been adopted by President Emmert. Once approved and signed by the Regents, it will become the University's official policy on sustainability.

Reports

• Facilities Services: Focus on Environmental Sustainability (pdf)

Building

• Capital Projects Office: Sustainability (includes listing of all LEED projects, information on sustainable construction and resource conservation, and commitment to LEED)
• Project Managers' Reference Document for Environmental Stewardship(pdf)

Energy and Water

• Energy and Water Reduction
• Role of Faculty, Staff, and Students in Energy Management

Environment, Health and Safety

• Management and Disposal of Hazardous Waste
• Pollution Control
• Spills and Releases

Land Use

• Campus Master Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement

Materials, Recycling, and Disposal

• Recycling

Transportation

• UPass
• UW Motor Pool. Sustainable Business Practices: Recycler of the Year 2004, EnviroStars: 5-Star Rating (2004)

Check out what students at the University of Washington are doing to promote sustainability on this campus and elsewhere.

• Coastal Society Cascadia Chapter
• GEPFa (The Graduate Environmental Policy Forum)
• Net Impact
• UW Community for Environmental Sustainability Listserv
• UW Earth Club
• WashPIRG

Sustainable Design

• Community, Environment, and Planning (CEP). Award winning, cross-disciplinary Bachelor of Arts major, housed in the Department of Urban Design and Planning.
• Green Technology. Web resource created by Landscape Architecture students with intent of serving as a primer re: using environmentally friendly approaches to site planning and design.
• Architecture and Urban Planning. (sustainability specialization).
• Sustainable Community Landscapes: Regional consortium based at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture.
• UW BaSiC Initiative: (Building Sustainable Communities): Faculty and students from the UW College of Architecture and Urban Planning developing partnerships throughout UW and with communities in the U.S. and Mexico to develop sustainable communities.

Sustainable Energy

• Undergraduate Fuel Cell Research: Sponsored by Departments of Chemical, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

Sustainable Development

• Educational Partnerships and Learning Technologies: Establishes University-community partnerships that broaden access to university research and education expertise and creates new opportunities for community-based research and learning.
• Geography Department: Links to Geography faculty research on sustainable development, environment, and resources.
• International Development Policy and Management Certificate Program (The Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs): Provides UW graduate students in a variety of fields with conceptual framework and practical tools needed to become effective development practitioners.
• Law of Sustainable International Development: First graduate program at a U.S. law school to focus on international development law.
• UW Worldwide: Multinational collaborations in research, education and service.

Sustainable Natural Resource Use

• Center for Quantitative Science in Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife: Inter-college interdisciplinary academic unit providing instruction in mathematical and applied statistical methods for undergraduate students in the biological sciences, renewable resources management, and environmental studies.
• Kathy and Steve Berman Environmental Law Clinic: Clinic seeks to familiarize students with emerging issues in environmental law through investigations, case developments, and consultations with faculty, practicing lawyers and scientific experts from various fields.
• Olympic Natural Resources Center: Conducts research and education on natural resource management practices which integrate ecological and economic values.
• Pack Forest Sustainable Forestry Initiative: The College of Forest Resources has achieved independent certification of its operations at Pack Forest to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Standard.
• School of Marine Affairs: Various interdisciplinary research projects on coastal and resource sustainability.
• University of Washington-Sichuan University Program on Scientific, Engineering and Social Challenges to the Environment in the US Pacific Northwest and Southwest China: Currently focuses on five research areas: biodiversity, water resources, forest ecology, environmentally-friendly (eco-) materials, and human-environment interaction
• The Water Center: Research of the center brings together policy and science. Annual review of research abstracts available online.

Corporate and Industrial Sustainability

• Business and Economic Development Center (Business School): Assists in the development of small businesses in economically distressed communities and provide students with an enhanced learning experience.
• Environmental Management Certificate Program: Graduate certificate that uses science, policy, and business to develop tools to solve environmental problems.
• Mechanical Engineering Design for Environment Lab: Focus on Design for the Environment, Life Cycle Assessment, Materials Flow Analysis, and Industrial Ecology.
• Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies (College of Architecture and Urban Planning): Links to environment, economic and development sites focused on sustainability

Sustainability Courses Offered

• NEW COURSE Sp 07: CSDE 595A Sustainability: People, Institutions, Knowledge and the Environment
• Sustainable Architecture/Design
• Sustainable Natural Resource Management/Use
• Sustainable Energy
• Sustainable Development