UW Sustainability Action Plan update

Why are we updating the Sustainability Action Plan?

As we wrap up our current five-year Sustainability Action Plan in 2024-2025, UW is launching the development of a new, ambitious plan to guide our path to a sustainable 2050. This next plan will reflect the needs of our tri-campus community and provide a clear roadmap for UW’s sustainability goals. Key focus areas include: 

• 2050 Visioning: We will collaborate across campuses to shape a long-term vision for 2050 in operations, community partnerships, and academics, which will inform five-year goals and strategies.

• Equity-Centered Approach: Guided by the Race & Equity Initiative and Diversity Blueprint, we will embed equity throughout our planning and implementation efforts. 

• Resource and Funding Needs: The plan will identify what’s required to achieve our sustainability goals. 

• Data-Driven Action: Grounded in the latest science and UW-specific data, the plan will support bold, informed action. 

• Policy Alignment: We will align with state, local, and global frameworks such as the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and STARS. 

• Storytelling for Impact: Community stories will help bring the plan to life and inspire collective action. 

• Support for Ongoing Work: The plan will highlight and strengthen existing sustainability efforts across UW. 

Anticipated timeline

The new Sustainability Action Plan will be developed through a collaborative process involving faculty, staff, students, experts and the wider UW community. Engagement activities, such as town halls, working groups and focus groups, will help shape a shared vision for the UW’s sustainable future. 

The planning process kicked off in Fall 2024, and has five key phases: 

1. Visioning: Define a collective 2050 sustainability vision through community outreach. 
2. Goal Setting: Translate that vision into measurable goals and strategies. 
3. Plan Drafting: Working groups will draft the Plan. 
4. Community Review: The draft will be refined based on stakeholder feedback. 
5. Final Publication: The updated SAP will be published in early 2026. 

Goal and strategy development will continue through July 2025, with refinement taking place in Fall 2025. 

Engagement approach

We believe that creating a truly effective Sustainability Action Plan requires input from our entire UW community. That’s why we've designed a range of engagement strategies to ensure we hear from a broad spectrum of the UW community. All outcomes and insights gathered from these engagement initiatives will be documented and made available on this webpage.

• Visioning Sessions (Fall 2024 – Winter 2025): Targeted sessions were held across the tri-campus to collect bold ideas for UW’s sustainable future, focused on three themes: academics/research, operations, and community partnerships. The outcomes of these sessions are shaping the Plan’s goals and strategies.
• Community Meetings (Fall 2024 – Winter 2026): Throughout the Sustainability Action Plan development process, we will host three open community meetings - at the beginning, middle, and end - free for all to attend. To maximize participation, we will provide both in-person and virtual attendance options for all our meetings.

  • Kickoff Event (Fall 2024): Breakout sessions and presentations to shape the Plan’s direction.

  • Community Briefing (Spring 2025): Progress updates, insights gained from community outreach, key recommendations from our working groups and upcoming milestones.

  • Final Launch (Winter 2026): Presentation of the completed Plan, with next steps for implementation. 

• Working groups (Early 2025): Cross-campus working groups will develop specific goals and actions for key topic areas such as:
  • Academics, Research & Learning
  • Buildings, Energy, & Climate 
  • Commuting & Transportation
  • Procurement & Finance
  • Food Systems
  • Landscapes & Ecological Systems
  • Materials & Waste
  • Community Building & Inclusion

How to participate

Community input

We’re building the next Sustainability Action Plan for the University of Washington, and we want your input. We have a working draft snapshot: a high-level look at the plan’s proposed structure, draft vision statements, and early priority actions. This is not the full plan, but an opportunity to weigh in on the direction we’re headed.

View the Snapshot and Share Your Feedback via the Community Input Form (UW NetID required):

Community input form

Your insights will help us refine and strengthen the plan as we move toward a full draft. Whether you have general thoughts or specific suggestions, we welcome your input.

Message to the future

The Message to the Future project invites students, staff and faculty across the tri-campus to share their visions for a sustainable and equitable future through creative expression. These may include written pieces, visual art, audio and video content. Submissions will inform the new Sustainability Action Plan and be featured on our website, as well as a physical showcase. 

We invite you to contribute your vision for the future through various media forms, including:  

• Written expressions (essays, poems, letters)  
• Visual art (paintings, photographs, digital designs)  
• Audio recordings (spoken word, music, soundscapes - see below)  
• Video content (short films, animations, vlogs)  

Submit your message

Share your voice

For those who want to participate through audio, UW Sustainability is also setting up times to record your audio messages and stories. You can share your sustainability journey, vision, and/or hopes for future generations.

Whether you're a student pioneering new initiatives, faculty conducting sustainability research, or staff implementing green practices, your perspective matters. These audio stories will be featured on our website and incorporated into the final plan to showcase our community's commitment to sustainability.

If you are interested in participating, email sustainabilityplan@uw.edu. UW Sustainability will contact you to schedule a recording time. We can also provide you with prompts to spur inspiration. Participants will be asked to sign a release form allowing UW Sustainability to use the recording in promotional materials.

Previous events

Community Briefing

On June 6, 2025, UW Sustainability gave a briefing on the current state of the process to develop the new Sustainability Action Plan.

UW Medicine Sustainability Visioning Session

On January 14, 2025, over 70 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, faculty, and staff members from UW Medicine participated in a sustainability visioning session to share their insights and ideas about what a sustainable future could look like for UW Medicine and how we might address the healthcare sector's unique challenges and opportunities.

View the slides from the UW Medicine presentation.

UW Bothell & Tacoma visioning sessions

UW Sustainability hosted a sustainability visioning sessions at UW Bothell & UW Tacoma in the Winter and Spring quarters. These sessions helped the University chart its course toward a sustainable 2050 and is a key step in developing UW’s new tri-campus Sustainability Action Plan, which will provide an actionable roadmap for UW's sustainability goals. Students, faculty, staff, and campus partners shared their ideas, aspirations, and priorities about what a successful sustainable future looks like for their campuses.

Kick-off events

UW Sustainability held in-person and virtual Community Kickoff Events in Fall 2024 for members of the UW community to learn about the process for creating the new Sustainability Action Plan and share their visions for a sustainable UW. We will be using the input from these events to inform the Sustainability Action Plan, ensuring our efforts reflect community values.

You can watch the presentation about the Sustainability Action Plan update process from the virtual event below.

Join the conversation

More engagement opportunities will be announced soon, and we invite you to be part of this important process. Your input is crucial in shaping a sustainable future for the University of Washington. Email sustainabilityplan@uw.edu with questions or to receive updates.