The Beginnings of a Sustainable Utah State
Official recognition of reducing Utah State's environmental impact began in the 1990's, with the creation of the University Recycling Center. From there, students advocated for President Albrecht to sign the American College and University Presidential Climate Commitment (ACUPCC, now Second Nature's President's Climate Leadership Commitments). This action enabled the creation of the first University-wide Sustainability Plan in 2007, the formation of the Sustainability Council, and led to student advocacy for the creation of the Blue Goes Green student fee, Student Sustainability Office, and Sustainability Coordinator position. Sustainability at Utah State has forever been a grassroots effort, led by students for students.
The Recent History
Utah State is now an AASHE STARS Silver insitution, with additional recognition as Bicycle Friendly Campus Gold, and Tree Campus certitification. Current initiatives include integrating sustainability into the curriculum through job training and course devlopment, leading decarbonization work at our central energy plant and leveraging federal funding, while working for centralized organization for sustainability at the University. Utah State's insitutional sustainability work is currently housed in Facilities, through the Associate Director of Planning and Sustainability, and the Sustainability Program Manager.
Sustainable Living
Obtaining carbon neutrality and engaging the public on sustainability issues are big jobs, but the small acts of fellow Aggies keep everything going. It can be hard to find out where to begin, so we've put together a few resources to help you find out where you belong in USU Sustainability.
Grants
If you're a student and you see something on campus that can be a lot more eco-friendly, head over to the Christenson Office for Social Action and Sustainability and get help writing a Social Action and Sustainability grant to make it happen.
Read Our Green Living Guide
Our Green Living Guide gives you all the information you need to become a more sustainable Aggie and to make a difference on campus.
Sustainability Resources
Here you'll find recent documents outlining our goals and initiatives: