2025 update
With our current five-year Sustainability Action Plan concluding in 2024-2025, we are set to begin the next phase of our sustainability efforts. The University will develop a new plan that will guide us towards our 2050 sustainability objectives. This plan will address the needs of our tri-campus community and involve a range of partners in its creation.
Stay informed about progress, learn about the planning process, and discover ways to get involved on the Sustainability Action Plan update page.
Fiscal Year 2025 UW Sustainability Plan report
Updated October 2024
Revamping the UW Sustainability Action Plan
The University of Washington’s Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) was adopted in July 2020 and included 10 measurable targets to be achieved over a five-year period. This plan was the first of its kind for the University and despite the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, UW has made substantial progress over the past four years toward these goals.
The progress report for Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025) showcases the significant strides made over the past year in achieving the existing Plan targets, reflects on current strategies that need to be re-evaluated and looks at actions that will be taken in FY2025. The current Sustainability Action Plan was adopted with an anticipated 2025 end date, and much of the year ahead will be focused on creating an updated Sustainability Action Plan with a more expansive scope and ambitious targets. The new SAP will build upon our learnings, address emerging challenges, and create an action-oriented pathway for a more sustainable UW community.
Since the adoption of the Sustainability Action Plan, the UW has advanced many sustainability efforts. Key accomplishments over the past four years include:
- Publishing the first comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory since 2005, quantifying emissions from purchased goods and services for the first time.
- Introducing a new Green Building Standard to align construction and renovation with the University's sustainability goals.
- Launching a five-part Energy Transformation Strategy to transition the Seattle campus to 100% clean energy and decarbonize heating and cooling.
- Fully subsidizing U-PASS for 22,000 employees, helping lower UW's drive alone rate to 13%.
- Hiring new staff for the UW Sustainability office and Campus Sustainability Fund to enhance capacity for student engagement, sustainability planning, and project management.
- Developing recommendations for a new UW-wide air travel emissions reduction program.
- Releasing UW's first Zero Waste Assessment Report, outlining long-term zero waste solutions.
- Expanding the Seattle campus Metering Monitoring O&M Program with digital meters and controls to optimize energy usage in many buildings.
- Enhancing the Campus Sustainability Fund’s continued investment in justice-centered sustainability, with more than $1 million in grants to student led projects including:
- Advancing conversations in reproductive justice through the Q Center’s menstruation station and EnGender programs.
- Discussing racial justice and equity in environmental science, conservation and related sustainability disciplines.
- Increasing accessibility at the UW Farm through interactive signage and accessible pathways.
- Bringing indigenous foods and medicinal plants to campus through the cross-cultural collaboration at the Burke Meadow and the UW native garden projects.
- Focusing on food security through the OZZI reusable takeout containers at campus dining locations, fresh food recovery at the UW pantry, and Project IF which grows hydroponic food used by Housing & Food Services.
- Improving the sustainability of campus infrastructure with Bird Friendly interventions to decrease bird collisions and implementing integrated photovoltaics and a solar rooftop on the life sciences building.
As the current five-year Sustainability Action Plan cycle concludes, UW Sustainability will lead the development of an ambitious new plan. This updated plan will provide an actionable roadmap for UW's 2050 sustainability vision, addressing the unique needs of the tri-campus community and cover topic areas not fully captured in the existing plan. The new plan will include five-year goals, with strategies and actions to support implementation. Funding and resource needs will be included to help ensure that projects and programs are considered in the UW’s budgeting process.
The new Sustainability Action Plan will be driven by current scientific data from organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and other climate research reports. It will also reflect the urgency emphasized in UW's vision and mission statements for sustainability, as well as existing metrics identified in UW’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report. The plan will align with state and local legislation, and be informed by frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).
The new plan will be developed through a collaborative strategic planning and engagement process beginning in Fall 2024 involving faculty, staff, students, subject matter experts, and the broader UW community. A variety of engagement activities will be employed, such as town halls, focus groups, a new student sustainability collaborative and topic/unit-specific working groups to gather diverse input. This inclusive approach aims to create a shared vision for sustainability at UW and recognize the diverse needs and perspectives of the University community.
