Archive Year

Winter break is already in progress for Northwestern undergraduates, and faculty and staff members are also preparing for a holiday break. Before leaving campus for the holidays, you can take steps to conserve energy while spaces are unoccupied.

The Northwestern University Solar Car Team (NUsolar) is an undergraduate student organization that designs, builds, and races solar-powered vehicles. This past summer, NUsolar successfully competed against 19 other university teams at the Formula Sun Grand Prix 2016, a track race held at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. After returning to campus in the fall, students dove into the task of building SC7, the team’s seventh generation solar car.

From October 17 through November 13, campus residences participated in Green Cup, a friendly competition to reduce energy and water use and engage in events focused on sustainability. The event resulted in significant energy and water savings. Winning residences in four categories claimed the Green Cup trophies, and prize money that can be used for sustainability themed activities or put toward Dance Marathon fundraising.

sustainNU established a food waste composting program in 2012, in partnership with Northwestern Dining. The University also composts landscaping waste. Over the past year, approximately 15 percent of waste generated on campus was composted.

This fall, sustainNU released its inaugural campus-wide Transportation Survey in partnership with the University’s Office of Institutional Research and Transportation and Parking Services. The goal of the survey was to gather information that will inform efforts to make traveling to and from campus more convenient and environmentally sustainable.

Northwestern has set ambitious goals for creating an environmentally sustainable campus, and students, faculty, and staff members from across the University are mobilizing to take action to achieve these goals. Five Sustainability Working Groups are tasked with overseeing the implementation of sustainability initiatives, and these groups recently gathered to share updates on their plans for the coming year.

Students, faculty, and staff members are invited to participate in the inaugural Northwestern Transportation Survey. This survey offers you an opportunity to provide critical input on existing transportation options and ideas on how these options could be improved.

The City of Evanston has been given a renewal of its designation as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” at the Silver Award level by the League of American Bicyclists. In addition to the City’s designation, Northwestern University was recognized as a "Bicycle Friendly University" at the Silver Award level for the first time.

Northwestern is pleased to present the University’s inaugural “Year in Review” Sustainability Report. This report highlights the results of an engaged campus community dedicated to advancing initiatives and behaviors necessary to sustain the University.

From October 17 through November 13, students on campus in Evanston are competing in Green Cup. This event challenges students to reduce energy and water use in their residences and to participate in sustainability-related events.

Northwestern is planning to take a close look at the trash collected on campus to identify opportunities to reduce waste and increase recycling.

Northwestern is working with partners with ComEd and Nicor Gas to take a strategic approach to managing energy use and make significant energy saving improvements on the Evanston campus.

The Green Office Certification program engages Northwestern staff and faculty in efforts to create more environmentally friendly workplaces on campus. Two new groups recently received Green Office Certification. The offices at Norris University Center completed an extensive effort to green their practices, and the Administrative Services offices and dean’s office at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law became the first offices on the Chicago campus to complete Green Office certification.

Northwestern’s sustainability program is undergoing a transformation in how we structure our efforts, and as part of that process, we’re adopting a new, old name. For some time, “sustainNU” referred to both Northwestern’s Office of Sustainability and broader sustainability efforts on campus. Starting this October, we decided to drop the Office of Sustainability title and identify our campus-wide sustainability program simply as sustainNU.

Student organizations make significant contributions to campus life at Northwestern. More than a dozen organizations on campus focus on issues of the environment and sustainability.

When it opens in 2017, the Kellogg School of Management’s new state-of-the-art Global Hub will be one of Northwestern’s most environmentally friendly buildings. The business school’s new home reflects the principles of sustainability and efficiency and showcases sustainable design.

One of the newest construction projects on campus isn’t an academic building or residence hall. It’s a solar-powered house, and it’s being designed by Northwestern undergraduates.

Wildcat fans visiting Ryan Field this fall will find an improved parking lot with new environmentally friendly features. Green features of the reconstructed lot include rain gardens, landscaping with native plants, and updated energy efficient lighting.

This August, faculty and staff started moving into the newly renovated Kresge Hall. The renovation was planned with sustainability in mind, and the project team is pursuing LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

This fall, Northwestern will compete in the ENERGY STAR Battle of the Buildings, a national competition that engages building managers in a 90-day challenge to see how much energy they can save.

The U.S. EPA has released its updated Green Power Partnership top partner rankings, and Northwestern came in seventh among green power users in the higher education sector. Northwestern purchases or generates green power equal to half of the University’s total annual electricity consumption.

New students and those returning to campus this fall can prepare to live sustainably by thinking about the environment when shopping and packing for the new academic year.

Each June Northwestern competes in the Bike Commuter Challenge organized by the Active Transportation Alliance. This year Northwestern won in its category of educational institutions with 5,000 or more employees, edging out the University of Illinois at Chicago for the greatest percentage of employees who logged rides during the competition.

Each June during student move-out, the Office of Sustainability coordinates the “Take it or Leave it” program, collecting items that students no longer want and donating them to local charitable organizations. This year more than 400 pounds of food was donated to Campus Kitchens NU (CKNU). In addition to the food, nearly 20,000 pounds of clothing and household goods were collected for donation to Goodwill.

A new environmentally friendly transportation option is now available on Northwestern’s Evanston campus with the introduction of Divvy Bike Share. Thanks to a partnership between the University, the City of Evanston and others, 100 Divvy bikes and 10 bike share stations were installed around Evanston in late June.

Kathia Benitez joined the Office of Sustainability in June 2016 as the director of sustainability. Kathia is responsible for providing leadership and management to ensure integration of sustainable practices throughout the University’s campuses. She will coordinate and administer sustainability and energy efficiency programs in collaboration with students, faculty and staff.

Northwestern has set some ambitious goals for improving energy efficiency in campus facilities, aiming to achieve a 20 percent reduction in energy use intensity (EUI) by 2020. The University’s ongoing partnership with the ENERGY STAR® program is a key part of efforts to achieve these goals.

The Bike Commuter Challenge is an annual week-long biking celebration organized by the Active Transportation Alliance.

Donation and recycling options on campus and in Evanston make it easy to lighten your load while minimizing the amount of trash you generate.

Most people have never thought about sustainability and sports.

Northwestern celebrated Earth Month throughout April with a wide variety of activities designed to engage the University community on issues of environmental sustainability.

The Green Office Certification program engages Northwestern staff and faculty in efforts to create more environmentally friendly workplaces on campus.

Each quarter, the Sustainability Excellence Awards recognize students, faculty, and staff members who have gone above and beyond to promote environmentally sustainable practices at Northwestern.

Northwestern’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond a single week-long celebration.

April 22 is Earth Day, and Northwestern student groups, offices, and departments are planning environmentally themed events throughout the month of April.

Northwestern Dining’s approach to sustainability focuses on educating students and providing them with opportunities to practice sustainable dining habits.

Do you have an innovative idea for a sustainability project affecting the Northwestern community?

On March 2, author and activist Naomi Klein came to Northwestern to speak about issues covered in her recent book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate.

From April 17 through 23, and throughout April, Northwestern will celebrate Earth Week with events and activities designed to draw attention to issues of environmental sustainability.

In February, Northwestern moved to mixed recycling, meaning that paper, cardboard, glass, cans, and plastic are now collected in the same recycling bins.

On Saturday, March 19, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Northwestern will join millions of people across the globe in switching off lights as part of Earth Hour.

Northwestern is committed to reducing energy use on its campuses and is proud to be an ENERGY STAR® partner.

Northwestern students are involved in promoting more environmentally sustainable practices both individually and through student organizations.

Northwestern’s students, faculty, and staff were keenly aware of the challenges facing our environment and were passionate about being involved in the solutions.

Northwestern staff member Alison Witt-Janssen enjoys riding her bicycle to her job in the Department of Classics.