Building Services Department Director Gene Woodard oversees the care of 11.5 million square feet of campus building space, as well as handling the waste generated by the occupants of those buildings. Woodard has empowered employees to put forward ideas to make the work better and more efficient, while keeping on eye on the sustainability of the UW's operations.

Under Woodard, the Building Services Department has won the Grand Award for Higher Education in Green Cleaning from American School & University magazine three times. The Whole U has much more on Green Husky Award winner...

Environmental Studies lecturer Kristi Straus not only earned a Husky Green Award this year, but also a Distinguished Teaching Award, for her classes focusing on mindful sustainability.

The WholeU has a Faculty Friday feature today showing how Straus' teaching creates a deep connection with students. In her class Sustainability: Personal Choices, Broad Impacts (pdf), students are tasked with sustainability activities that provide opportunities to change their behavior...

The University of Washington, Western Washington University and the Evergreen State College are jointly offering a regional symposium on low-carbon space heating alternatives to natural gas. The symposium will be held Friday, May 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the UW Alder Hall Commons.

There are a few low-carbon heating technologies technically feasible in the Puget Sound region. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses, and their economic feasibility tends to be very site dependent. We are inviting facilities and operations managers of large public and commercial...

Is your office getting ready for spring cleaning? There are plenty of ways to ensure that your annual cleanup is both efficient and sustainable! With Earth Day coming up, use the following tips from UW Recycling to properly dispose of your used office supplies.

Paper

Ready to get rid of the post it notes covering your monitor? Are there research journals from the 80s collecting dust in the corner? Begin by reserving UW Recycling’s free temporary paper toters. Your...

It was an honor to participate in UW’s “Future of Ice” Speaker Series earlier this month. Mt. Baker Ski Area hosted a weekend of talks with expert speakers from our region, and I was thrilled to spend an afternoon overlooking the beautiful powdery slopes while discussing some fundamental issues surrounding the current perceptions of climate change and how we talk about it.

The day started with a cold but gorgeous drive up to Mt. Baker, a reminder of how powerful and fragile nature can be. It was an excellent day for skiers...

SafeFlame is a local cleantech start-up founded by Foster School MBA student Kevin Cussen which aims to tackle a glut of high profile issues effecting people in developing nations. SafeFlame utilizes biodigesters to break down organic content and create biogas, which can be used as fuel for gas cookstoves. The company hopes to use its technology to help cut indoor pollutants caused by cookstoves that use fuels such as wood, charcoal, crop waste or animal dung.

However, the start-up is currently working a little closer to home on a project sponsored by the Campus Sustainability Fund...

As we look towards spring, I'd like to pause and reflect on this time of transition for UW Sustainability. Our long-time Associate Vice President, Ruth Johnston, has moved on to her new role as Vice Chancellor of Planning & Administration for UW Bothell. I feel fortunate to have worked for Ruth since starting at the UW and know with confidence that sustainability at the university would not be where it is today without her vision and leadership. Ruth is a respected leader of the institution and we will continue to work...

The Husky Green Awards nomination deadline is almost here, and we still need your help to identify the top sustainability superstars at the University of Washington! Let us know who the top student leaders, faculty mentors, hard-working groups and behind-the-scenes staff are who keep the University of Washington sustainable. Unless you submit a nomination, we won’t know who deserves one of the annual Husky Green Awards, so please submit your nominations by the end of the day on Wednesday, March 1.

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Hey y'all! My name is Annika Jung and I am delighted to announce that I will be the new project assistant for UW Sustainability. This role will allow me to be involved with different projects that will support both the sustainability office and the UW.

I am currently an Environmental Health major at the University of Washington and I firmly believe that the impact of sustainability on our campus can help create a cleaner environment for our future generation. I also believe it can prevent future health complications in our future. I will be implementing my perspectives as a student...

UW Sustainability, UW Recycling, Campus Sustainability Fund, Livable City Year and many partners from around campus had the privilege to attend the 2017 Washington Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WAHESC) last week at Gonzaga University. The theme of the conference was "Caring for our Common Home." The program began with a keynote presentation from Mitch Thomashow who presented on "bringing the biosphere home" and showed images of street art and its connection to sustainability across...