In Our Nature

The University of Washington's new West Campus Utility Plant (WCUP) has received an Envision Gold award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). The Envision system rates sustainable infrastructure projects across the full range of environmental, social, and economic impacts.

The recently completed plant near the corner of University Way and Pacific Street provides cooling and emergency power to energy-intensive research buildings in the southwestern...

Hello! I'm Drue Johnson, a junior majoring in Communications and minoring in English. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work at UW Sustainability because the Student Program Assistant position allows me to be a social representative of the office. In addition, I get the chance to get experience writing blog posts, social media posts, and to work on my interpersonal communications skills.

Being a part of the sustainability office is especially exciting for me because it is the perfect medium for me to combine my love of communications with my passion for the environment. I...

This month's Green Certification Workshop Wednesday will by July 12 at noon, in Gerberding Hall room G26. These Workshop Wednesdays are monthly open presentation and discussion sessions on the Green Office and Green Lab certifications.

Everyone is welcome to join and learn more about these programs - we'll have a brief presentation, answer questions about the certification application, walk through available resources to help make your workplace more sustainable, and provide support for filling out the application. To find...

The EPA has announced the rules for the 6th annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a design competition open to U.S. colleges and universities. Through the challenge, the EPA seeks to engage undergraduate and graduate students in designing innovative green infrastructure for stormwater management to showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure practices.  

Stormwater pollution is a problem that is growing in scope and magnitude. Communities need planners, designers,...

Congratulations to the UW Sustainability students who graduated this year - Veronica Guenther, CSF Outreach Coordinator; Caroline Beightol, Green Certification Intern; Cole Lausch, EcoReps Coordinator; and Jennifer Watts, Graphic Design Intern. They all added to the ever-changing mosaic of our office, which has relied on the energy and interest of students since we were established in 2008. Students are the life force of sustainability action at UW and we are grateful to have worked with so many talented students over the years who are now changing the world one day at a time.

I...

Who doesn’t like free swag? We’d like to know what you think about getting freebies at UW events, and how useful they are to you.

Here at UW Sustainability, it is important to us that we maintain and improve our efforts to be environmentally friendly when promoting our office. This means that we want to use giveaway items that are not only sustainable, but are also popular and raise awareness about sustainable behavior.

To gauge public interest, we’ve created a brief survey we hope will help our office and others to...

The UW Tacoma Center for Leadership & Social Responsibility is offering a 10-week online Certificate in Business Sustainability course this fall.

This course will give professionals the practical skills that will help them make a positive impact in any organization from a cost savings, risk reduction and brand value perspective. Open to professionals from any industry, this Certificate is designed to rapidly enhance your understanding and skill set to be a more...

The CleanTech Innovation Showcase, hosted by the CleanTech Alliance, is Monday, June 26 in Seattle. There are still openings for student volunteers, who will attend the showcase for free. Volunteers must be currently enrolled students or 2017 graduates from CleanTech Alliance member schools (including the University of Washington). All email inquiries must be sent from students' school email addresses. 

The CleanTech Innovation Showcase is a  one-day event to experience the latest cleantech innovations, ideas and...

The University of Washington is one of more than 180 college and universities from across the country - along with more than 1,000 businesses, cities and states - to sign the "We Are Still In" letter declaring continued support for climate action and reducing carbon emissions despite the absence of leadership from the federal government.

The UW joins Governor Inslee, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine  as...

Students interested in learning about bees, beekpeeping and pollination have an opportunity to take a summer course covering basic modern beekeeping skills. If you are interested in food production, farming, holistic gardening, botany, entomology, pollination, or are just curious about bees, this course will provide a deep knowledge base. Your participation will be part internship and part science project, so be prepared to don your suit, grab your notebook, and have fun. Who knows - you may become a beekeeper!

The class is...