Guiding Priorities

UW’s Scope 1 emissions are primarily driven by fossil fuels used to provide heating and hot water for campus buildings. In 2022, fossil fuel combustion accounted for 97,634 MtCO2e, or 18.5% of UW’s total emissions, making it the University’s second-largest emissions source. Most of these emissions come from natural gas combustion in the Seattle campus’ Power Plant which produces steam for heating, hot water and sterilization for campus buildings, including parts of UW Medical Center– Montlake. Reducing Scope 1 emissions will require continued investment in energy efficiency, electrification, and long-term transformation of campus energy systems.

The UW’s Scope 2 emissions are currently a much smaller part of the University’s footprint because the electric utilities serving UW campuses provide a relatively low-carbon fuel mix, with hydropower being a primary source for electricity in our region. Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act will further reduce electricity-related emissions over time by requiring electric utilities to provide greenhouse gas-neutral electricity by 2030 and 100% renewable or non-emitting electricity by 2045.

Scope 3 emissions make up the largest part of UW’s carbon footprint, and are associated with indirect sources such as travel, procured goods and services, construction and food purchasing. The UW’s 2022 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory was the first time the University quantified emissions associated with procurement of goods and services, revealing that this is the largest category of UW’s Scope 3 emissions, accounting for 64% of our total emissions across all Scopes. As a result, this SAP is strategic in addressing emissions from goods and services across multiple focus area actions. Tackling this category of emissions is somewhat new territory, and SAP actions are centered on identifying opportunities to move the needle around low-carbon and sustainable goods procured by the UW.

Because UW’s emissions come from many different systems, decarbonization will require coordinated action across Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 sources. Many actions in this Plan are designed to reduce direct operational emissions while also building the UW’s capacity to reduce or better manage indirect emissions over time. This includes work on building energy, electrification, sustainable procurement, lower-carbon materials, supplier engagement, commute trip reduction, air travel reduction, lower-impact food purchasing, reuse, compostables and waste prevention. Emerging policy and regulatory drivers also create opportunities for the UW to align operational decisions with broader state and local climate goals.

Decarbonizing University operations is both a climate imperative and an institutional responsibility that aligns with the UW’s values. The new SAP establishes long-term goals to reduce both direct and indirect emissions across the University, while prioritizing near-term actions that are stepping stones toward long-term progress. 

The financial and regulatory case for decarbonization is growing. The Seattle campus alone spends approximately $9 million annually on natural gas to provide heat and hot water for the campus and UW Medical Center – Montlake. This does not include the allowances the UW must purchase as a covered entity under Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA). As a large emitter of greenhouse gases, the UW must purchase carbon allowances for its emissions, and these costs are expected to increase under the CCA as a cap-and-invest program. The State Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS) also requires UW facilities to reduce energy consumption and transition away from fossil fuels over time. These policies create opportunities for UW to accelerate building energy efficiency, electrification and emissions reduction across its campuses.

Direct emissions from fossil fuel combustion in buildings account for UW’s second largest source of emissions, and 93% of these direct (Scope 1) emissions are a result of natural gas burned for heating across the Seattle campus. Achieving this goal by 2035 will require significant reductions in fossil fuel use through energy efficiency, electrification, and long-term transformation of campus energy systems. While UW has identified major pathways toward this goal, including implementation of the Energy Renewal Plan (ERP), the investment strategies needed to achieve the full level of reduction by 2035 are not yet fully funded or developed. Electricity-related emissions (Scope 2) are negligible due to the region’s hydropower-dominated grid, combined with the State’s CETA law requiring electricity providers to be fossil fuel free by 2045.

Long-term targets

• 95% direct reduction in Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions (2005 baseline) by 2035. This target is consistent with the Faculty Senate Resolution “Concerning Timetable for Climate Crisis Finance and Decarbonization,” which passed in 2024 and called for a 95% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035. Reaching this level of reduction will require a combination of strategies. Implementation of the ERP is the largest opportunity to reduce direct emissions from the Seattle campus energy system. The ERP calls for a phased transformation of the campus energy system, including reducing energy demand, converting the steam distribution system to hot water, centralizing cooling, expanding electrical infrastructure, and replacing natural-gas heating with electric heat pump technologies and recovered heat. Full implementation of the ERP will require significant additional funding, and the University is working to identify additional funding pathways to make progress toward the 2035 goal. Once ERP implementation is complete, any remaining emissions will likely be addressed through high-quality carbon removals or offsets.

Scope 3, or indirect, emissions represent nearly 80% of the University of Washington’s total greenhouse gas footprint. Scope 3 emissions are associated with purchasing and supply chains, travel, commuting and solid waste. The following targets focus on the largest areas of indirect emissions, namely purchasing and travel, which make up 81% and 15% of the UW’s Scope 3 emissions respectively.

Long-term targets

• 35% reduction in emissions from purchased goods and services by 2040 (from a 2022 baseline). This target signals a shift toward lower carbon goods, services, and suppliers. Progress will be tracked through expanded sustainable procurement practices, supplier engagement, and more precise data collection of emissions from goods over time.
• 50% reduction in travel-related emissions by 2040 (from a 2022 baseline). This target reflects the forecast reduction from the 2022 GHG Inventory and assumes implementation of strategies such as reducing emissions from air travel, increasing transit ridership and reducing single-occupancy vehicle commuting.

Across the UW’s campuses and health system, the materials we use every day shape our environmental footprint. From academic and clinical operations to housing, dining, research and construction, the UW depends on a constant flow of products and materials. The UW’s waste management work focuses on reducing landfill disposal while also shifting attention upstream toward waste prevention, reuse, improved material recovery and making more informed purchasing decisions. It’s important not only to dispose of items correctly, but to reduce the amount of material used overall and encouraging reuse wherever possible.

Waste disposal impacts are much larger at UW Seattle and UW Medicine than at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma, largely reflecting the greater scale and operational complexity of the Seattle campus and health system. In 2022, UW Seattle’s emissions associated with waste disposal were more than ten times greater than UW Bothell and UW Tacoma combined, and UW Medicine is similar in scale to the Seattle campus. This plan allows implementation strategies to reflect each campus’s operations, infrastructure and reporting systems.

Our campuses all connect to the natural beauty of our region, while each has its own unique setting and environment. The University of Washington spans more than 746 acres, including urban streetscapes, natural wetlands and more traditional campus settings. All three campuses are adjacent to important bodies of water for species habitat, such as the Foss Waterway in Tacoma, Lake Washington in Seattle, and North Creek in Bothell.

Our goal of advancing ecological health includes implementing best practices from leading certification organizations, as well as ensuring our tree canopy thrives and expands. This area ensures our grounds and landscapes will continue to support the University’s people and its mission long into the future.

The UW's most recent waste characterization study, completed in 2018, focused on the Seattle campus and examined the waste generated in areas including academic buildings, residence halls, campus laboratories, health sciences and the medical center. It included the primary garbage, recycling and compost streams and did not include all specialty waste, such as separate collections for scrap metal, electronics, chemicals or other source-separated materials. The study found the campus generated more than 14 million pounds of waste. Spread across the campus population, that equals roughly 159 pounds per person each year, or about three pounds per person each week. While the UW already keeps some of this material out of the landfill through composting and recycling, the study found much more could be diverted through better sorting, collection systems, and waste prevention strategies.

Food and compostable paper are two significant opportunities for improvement. The study found that UW was capturing less than half of its compostable and soiled paper through compost, while food had a 52% capture rate. Capture rate refers to the amount of potentially recyclable or compostable materials that are successfully kept out of the landfill.

Long-term targets

• 80% compostables capture rate by 2050. Composting of food waste and other compostable material mitigates climate change by reducing landfill emissions and building stable organic matter. Research shows compost-amended soils act as carbon sinks, with at least 20% of composted carbon remaining in the soil up to 15 years after application. The capture rate for compostables at the Seattle campus is approximately 46%. This can be improved through strategies such as education, signage and changes to bin infrastructure. Post-consumer or ‘back-of-house’ sorting may also be tested.
• 80% recyclables capture rate by 2050. On the Seattle campus, the capture rate for recyclables is approximately 63%. Reaching this target will require consistent waste-sorting education, clearer signage, infrastructure improvements and testing innovative technologies. Because recycling data is tracked differently at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma, implementation on those campuses will reflect local collection systems.
• Reduce total landfill waste 30% by 2050. This target continues the UW’s long-term progress in keeping materials out of the landfill. Between 2004 and 2018, UW reduced landfill disposal by 55% through additional composting and recycling pathways and reductions in overall waste generation. Continued progress will depend on reducing our overall waste and getting more compostable and recyclable materials into the correct streams. It will also mean making purchasing decisions that prioritize lower-waste products.
• Reduce landfill disposal from the top three highest-generating campus groups by 10% by 2035. UW Recycling data shows that some sectors across campus produce more waste than others. The largest waste-generating sectors are the hospital, residence halls and campus laboratories. These areas represent key opportunities for targeted waste reduction, expanded reuse and improved sorting.

Our land management practices, including stewardship of landscapes, have an impact on species health and water quality across the region. This long-term goal and targets focus on scaling up existing best practices to enhance our stewardship of the land and aquatic environments.

Long-term targets

• Each campus will update its respective landscape management plan, including priorities for enhanced ecological resilience, by 2040. UW’s campuses offer different opportunities to strengthen ecological health. Seattle’s natural areas, Bothell’s wetland and forest, and Tacoma’s urban landscape each call for a locally informed approach. This target gives each campus a way to reflect locally appropriate opportunities to strengthen ecological health. This approach connects ecological resilience with ongoing campus planning and stewardship. 
• Convert 100% of irrigation to smart systems by 2040. Many University facilities already have smart irrigation systems, which helps reduce over-watering, catch water leaks and adapt to changing climate conditions. Expanding smart irrigation systems can also help reduce the UW’s utility costs.
• Expand tree canopy coverage across the tri-campus by 2050. Expanding tree canopy across the University will require campus-specific approaches that reflect different landscapes, land use patterns and future growth needs. The Seattle campus currently maintains approximately 24% canopy coverage and is working to maintain and grow the canopy even while accommodating campus growth, working toward 25% by 2037. UW Bothell and UW Tacoma will need to assess existing canopy coverage to determine appropriate long-term canopy goals.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) program developed by the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is a framework for higher education institutions to assess and benchmark progress in embedding sustainability across their operations, academics, and community partnerships. As of 2026, only 18 of the 416 institutions rated worldwide have earned a Platinum STARS rating, the highest level of achievement under the system

Long-term targets

• Achieve a STARS score of 85+. The UW has consistently achieved a Gold STARS rating, and this long-term target challenges us to scale up best practices, particularly with respect to sustainability learning across disciplines. Achieving this target will position the UW among the highest-performing institutions in the STARS community and demonstrate strong integration of sustainability into University operations, as well as research and learning. The 2025 STARS score for the Seattle campus was 67.89% (Gold), meaning we need to make considerable strides to reach Platinum at 85%. The emphasis for this long-term target is to identify STARS points not yet achieved that will be impactful in advancing SAP goals and enable students, faculty and staff to be changemakers. By contrast, there are STARS points that the UW Sustainability team has identified as either not feasible or less impactful, and those points will likely not be pursued.

Through community engagement during the SAP development process, students expressed a clear desire for more accessible, meaningful opportunities to contribute to sustainability on our campuses. This long-term goal establishes a Sustainability Changemaker Collaborative to increase opportunities for hands-on sustainability projects for students and better integrate a sustainability lens in classroom teaching and learning. The targets below focus on a deliberate path to increase student engagement through a new sustainability project portal with a variety of “ready-to-go” opportunities, such as class and group projects, capstone projects, one-time volunteer events, and more.

Long-term targets

• Complete at least 25 projects through the project engagement portal by 2030. This target assumes roughly five new projects will be added to the portal each year, ensuring that the opportunities for students grow annually. The project portal also helps increase collaboration among faculty, staff and students while advancing SAP goals.
• Increase participation in project-based sustainability opportunities by 5% annually. This target reflects steady growth in student, faculty, and staff engagement over time, helping expand access to hands-on sustainability work and ensuring more members of the UW community can contribute to meaningful impact.