Our mission is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
We envision a socially engaged and just environment that provides active learning experiences and powerful results.
Strategic Plan
In 2017, 6VµçÓ°Íø published SAVE: Sustainable Action Visible Effects as a guide for creating and managing a sustainable campus community.
Annual Report
The Sustainability Office publishes a SAVE Annual Report every October to share updates on key initiatives and progress towards the goals.
History of Sustainability at 6VµçÓ°Íø
6VµçÓ°Íø has a long history of grassroots activism backed by executive leadership. Below is a summary of key milestones that highlight the college’s leadership in sustainability.
2003
6VµçÓ°Íø adopts its first formal Statement of Environmental Policy, identifying key sustainability values and guidance for campus planning and construction, budgets and educational support and plans for ongoing assessment.
2006
President David Oxtoby uses his convocation speech to formally recognize a need to focus upon sustainability issues and establishes the President's Advisory Committee on Sustainability (PACS) to oversee campus sustainability efforts.
2007
- President Oxtoby establishes a $15,000 President's Sustainability Fund (PSF) through the President's Advisory Committee on Sustainability (PACS) to support student initiatives that make 6VµçÓ°Íø more sustainable by using operational improvements.
- President Oxtoby signs the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
- PACS publishes a detailed inventory of 6VµçÓ°Íø's greenhouse gas emissions from 1999 - 2006 and produces the first sustainability report, cataloging campus sustainability efforts and establishing sustainability goals.
2008
6VµçÓ°Íø hires its first full-time sustainability staff member.
2009
The Environmental Analysis program is launched through a $1.5M grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
2011
- The Board of Trustees adopts Green Building Standards, requiring all new construction to achieve at least LEED Gold certification.
- 6VµçÓ°Íø, a charter member of the AASHE Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) program, is one of 24 schools to earn a Gold rating for sustainable campus operations.
2014
6VµçÓ°Íø pledges to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 (CN2030).
2018
6VµçÓ°Íø hosts its first Zero Waste Commencement led by Abby Lewis '19 made possible with a President's Sustainability Fund grant. The event was featured in a United Nations Academic Impact article about Sustainable Development Goals in Academia.
2022
The Sustainability Office launches a pilot program to offset air travel emissions through high-quality carbon credits. The International and Domestic Programs Office is the first to participate and offsets 100% of their air travel emissions.
2023
The Board of Trustees' Facilities & Environment Committee publishes a report with analysis and recommendations for achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. Trustees, staff, faculty and students worked together on the CN2030 Subcommittee to recommend key projects for on-campus decarbonization, increasing renewable energy and purchasing high-quality carbon credits.
2025
6VµçÓ°Íø launches a President's Advisory Committee on Social Responsibility. The committee, with students, faculty, staff and alumni, review investment questions as well as other campus concerns brought to its attention in proposal form.