Blogs

The Washington State Department of Ecology is encouraging groups working on food waste to be a partner in Food Waste Prevention Week happening April 10-16. 

Food Waste Prevention Week is a national awareness and education movement including online and in-person events. Cities, states, universities and other organizations have partnered around the effort.

For organizations interested in becoming a partner, there are two upcoming national Partner Info Sessions:

The University of Washington has begun developing its new Energy Transformation Strategy. This multi-year strategy will transition how the Seattle campus heats and cools buildings - from burning natural gas to produce steam, toward a new clean energy system that will use electricity to heat and cool the campus.

Cole Young is currently a junior pursuing a double degree in Industrial Design and Sociology, and has recently begun working as the UW Sustainability Graphic Designer. Cole is especially interested in exploring how sustainable practices and goals can inform design and lead to more positive outcomes for both consumers and the environment. With his studies in Sociology, he also hopes to better understand social structures and how design could be used to address different societal issues in order to make positive and lasting impacts on vulnerable communities.

As my first calendar year with UW Sustainability comes to a close, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on what we've accomplished over the past year and our focus areas for  2023.

The Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) is looking for a graduate student Fellow to plan, manage, and implement key communications campaigns for OSE's climate initiatives. The Fellow will develop a portfolio of environmental policy and communications materials to engage key constituencies and help communicate to residents about the investments and climate policies that are coming to Seattle.

The University of Washington has recently been recognized as a national leader for its sustainability performance, particularly in the areas of purchasing and transportation.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) 2022 Sustainable Campus Index named the UW second overall, and first among doctoral universities, for sustainable purchasing. The UW was also ninth overall, and fourth among U.S. schools, for sustainable transportation.

The University of Washington is starting the process of transforming and decarbonizing our energy system, and we want student voices to help guide the process. 

The UW Sustainability's "In Our Nature" podcast has been re-launched. The latest episode is a discussion with our new director Lisa Dulude. Lisa joined the UW Sustainability office in May 2022. Prior to starting at UW, she served for 12 years as the Energy and Sustainability Manager for Snohomish County. In this episode, Lisa talks about her sustainability background, some of the big sustainability opportunities at UW and ways for students, faculty and staff to get involved.

UW Sustainability is hiring a Sustainable Building Materials intern. This internship position will help UW Sustainability research and develop draft sustainability guidelines for materials used in UW building construction. Many materials commonly used in building and construction, such as concrete, steel, timber, and expanded polystyrene (EPS) have high embodied carbon, contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, and present additional challenges with respect to sustainability.

The student group Global Renewables Infrastructure Development (GRID) is looking for new members.. GRID is a registered student organization that works on designing, optimizing, installing, financing and assessing the societal impacts of renewable energy systems, with a specific focus on projects that advance equitable access to electricity.