The University of Washington Sustainability office has created this blog to showcase the stories of sustainability across the University of Washington.

This blog is a place to discover and discuss the many sustainability efforts by students, faculty and staff across UW. We hope it will become a dynamic and vibrant forum encompassing a wide range of voices from the UW community. As we experiment with different ways to tell you about the many aspects of UW sustainability, we expect that the blog will change and grow over time. 

If you...

Harborview Medical Center and University of Washington Medical Center have each been selected for the 2014 Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award from Practice Greenhealth. The Top 25 Award recognizes health care facilities across the country that exemplify environmental excellence and is setting the highest standards for environmental practices in health care. This is the third consecutive year that HMC has won the top award from Practice Greenhealth...

The University of Washington is one of four universities worldwide, and the only one from the United States, named this week as a Sustainable Campus Excellence Award winner by the International Sustainable Campus Network.

The awards, presented June 3 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recognize sustainable campus projects that demonstrate leadership, creativity, effectiveness and...

Sorting your waste at UW is now a little clearer with 3-D visuals showing ideal disposal. The new visuals, located in the HUB and By George Café, aim to simplify waste disposal on campus and encourage greater composting and recycling. UW Sustainability led the project in partnership with the UW Garbology Project, UW Housing and Food Services, and UW Recycling.

The visuals are made from...

The US Green Building Council recently awarded LEED gold certification to UW Medicine Phase 3.1 in South Lake Union. Green features of the 183,000-square-foot, seven-story building include a storm water cistern for irrigation, a heat-recovery chiller, high-efficiency boilers, exhaust air energy recovery and more. The project was financed through $165 million in tax-exempt bonds via the National Development Council....

The University of Washington announces the launch of its new Commuter Calculator—an interactive web-based application that allows commuters to explore how their commute choices affect the cost, CO₂ output and calories burned by their commute. Created by UW students, funded by the Campus Sustainability Fund, and supported by UW Transportation Services and the...

The University of Washington’s sustainability leadership was recognized Tuesday evening at the fifth annual Green Washington Awards, hosted by Seattle Magazine. The event celebrated 50 organizations in Washington state demonstrating leadership and commitment to sustainable business practices.

The University received the Silver Award in the Academia category—one of 12 categories...

Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability is pleased to announce the launch of the new UW Sustainability Map—a web-based application showing the locations of over 25 types of sustainability resources.

The map combines the location of sustainable resources on campus into one tool. Features highlighted by the map include solar panels, green roofs, bus stops, compost collection, and...

Recognizing excellence in campus tree management, Tree Campus USA engages both the student body and the wider community in the establishment and maintenance of community forests. Since 2010 the University of Washington has held the proud distinction of Tree Campus USA recognition.

Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in...

The UW's Molecular Engineering and Sciences Building (MolES) incorporates innovative strategies for energy savings and sustainability. Reducing the number of air changes by 40% lightens the load on the mechanical systems that serve technically challenging laboratories, while operable office windows and solar chimneys are part of a more "organic" approach to heating and cooling. Phase change material fills the gap in walls and ceilings, and works by solidifying at cooler temperatures to retain heat while liquefying at warmer temperatures to facilitate heat exchange between the building and...