In Our Nature

Welcome to the first edition of my new quarterly blog series, Claudia's Corner!

This year has definitely begun on an active note.  I just returned from the 12th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability at Portland State and co-presented with our Associate Vice President, Ruth Johnston, on "Transforming the University through...

At Wednesday's Green Bag, event, we were lucky to hear from Tim Stetter, director of UW in the High School, who shared how the program implemented a major process reform which saved thousands of sheets of paper each year.

The UWHS program allows high school students to complete University of Washington courses in their own classrooms. Teachers in schools across the state teach the courses, using UW curriculum, activities, texts, tests, and grading scales, and students can receive UW credit for the course.

In order to keep each course up to standards, there is an application...

Wednesday we're hosting a paper reduction Green Bag talk in Gerberding Hall, starting at 11:30 a.m. in room 26! We are joined by Tim Stetter, Director of the UW in the High School program who will talk about their paper reduction efforts in the last year.

A bit about the program and paper reduction: UW in the High School offers high school students UW credit for courses that they take in high school. Typically, approving courses is a rigorous, paper-heavy activity in...

Right now, there's something missing at the UW’s Office of Admissions.

Tables, desks and floors are empty instead of being covered with stacks and stacks of paper applications. For the first time, most applications for admission at the University of Washington are being considered as digital files instead of pages of printed paper.

About 32,000 students from within the U.S. applied for admission this fall, which means 32,000 files were not printed and stacked around the admissions office. Moving away from paper helps the UW reduce...

The University of Washington has a goal of reducing paper usage university-wide, in line with a Washington state law directing state agencies to reduce paper consumption by at least 30% from 2008-2009 levels and use 100% recycled copy paper.

UW is still working toward those goals, and you can see the progress on our Sustainability Dashboard's paper page. Below, you can that the amount of paper per employee across all UW campuses has steadily dropped since the law was passed.

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UW Sustainability is excited to introduce paper reduction week! All week on the blog we'll be highlighting stories of people and groups on campus who have taken steps to reduce paper use, and providing tips and resources for you to do the same. This week is all about reducing the amount of paper we use, going digital and making small changes with big impacts. Reducing paper can save money and time as well as significantly reducing our environmental impact.

The University of Washington is committed to reducing paper. The UW recognizes paper reduction...

There’s a whole new lineup of sustainability events this week, ranging from discussions on global warming and Seattle’s environmental history to a natural resources career fair. Some of the week's highlights are listed below, and you can find out even more items happening on campus with our full calendar. The full Sustainability Events calendar is the best place to find the most up-to-date listings and details on all events. Also, if you know of any events, please let us know. We’d love to add them to our calendar! And if...

Really fascinating Faculty Friday post today by Quinn Russel Brown on a class being tought by Anu Taranath, a senior lecturer in Compartive History of Ideas and English about how to talk about power and privilege on campuses. Getting comfortable about talking about uncomfortable things is a key element of the course and Taranath has multiple ways in which she facilitates the conversation. It certainly fits into the UW's new Race & Equity Initiative...

Whether it’s conserving water or donating unused food, the University of Washington Club is always looking for new innovative ways to stay sustainable.

“We try to align ourselves with the University’s commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Jenelle Ebisu, the UW Club’s general manager. “We’re always trying to support the environment as much as we can.”

For 105 years the UW Club has been providing full-service catering and meeting planning for departmental events, conferences, lunch services, and...