sustainability

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Washington University in St. Louis for reducing its waste. Among other efforts, used cooking oil is recycled into biodiesel to fuel Bon Appétit campus delivery trucks. Here, executive chef Patrick McElroy (far right) explains the process.

Washington University in St. Louis is moving forward with a bold and impactful plan to increase solar output on all campuses by 1,150 percent over current levels by this fall. The project demonstrates the university’s commitment to sustainable operations and to reducing its environmental impact in the St. Louis region and beyond.

Winning teams in the I-CARES Student Competition displayed their sustainability projects on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis last week. The annual competition asks students to propose a physical installation in the area of climate change, renewable energy or sustainable design.

Students living in on-campus housing on the South 40 and North Side and in fraternities are shutting off lights, sharing fridges and unplugging their device chargers to win the WUSTL Green Cup, one of a series of university initiatives that promotes an ethic of sustainability. The Office of Sustainability’s overarching Less is More campaign promotes ongoing energy conservation, waste reduction, water conservation and more.

Washington University, recognized for its leadership in the Sustainable Land Lab, a partnership with the City of St. Louis, and for furthering sustainability efforts on campus, was one of six entities to receive a sustainability award from the City of St. Louis Nov. 6 during the Mayor’s Sustainability Summit.

Attention new Washington University students: if there’s something you need to complete your new space, look no further than campus. Sharing With A Purpose (SWAP) is holding a dorm supplies sale from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, on the South 40 basketball court.

The Sustainable Land Lab project, a partnership between WUSTL and the City of St. Louis, officially broke ground May 18. The lab will tranform vacant lots in Old North St. Louis into assets to advance sustainability and community involvement. Winning projects include a chess garden and a restaurant made from a surplus cargo container.

WUSTL is celebrating Earth Day Monday, April 22, and many sustainability-themed events are planned for the week of April 22-26 on the Danforth and Medical campuses. On Monday, there with be an Earth Week Kickoff in Edison Courtyard and a climate change panel discussion featuring faculty from across the university. 

​Two prominent environmental thinkers and activists will address climate change, biodiversity and pollution during a lecture at 7 p.m. April 10 in Whitaker Hall Auditorium at Washington University in St. Louis. The lecture titled “To Hell in a Handbasket?: The Global Environment and Sustainability” is free and open to the public. The primary sponsors are University College — the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences — and the International Affairs program in University College.

The Faces of Hope rally got the WUSTL campus ready for the Clinton Global Initiative University. At the rally,the community watched a video message from Chelsea Clinton and learned that WUSTL is committing $30 million to improve energy efficiency and other sustainability efforts on campus.