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Vanderbilt University launches sustainable lab program
Apr. 18, 2024—The new Vanderbilt Sustainable Labs program, an initiative from Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability in the Division of Administration, provides guidance and a voluntary certification designation for laboratory members to reduce the environmental impact of their lab activities. Laboratory spaces traditionally consume about five times more energy per square foot than standard office spaces, making them a crucial...
Twenty-five and counting: Vanderbilt University continues to expand its green building certifications
Apr. 12, 2024—THINGS TO KNOW: Vanderbilt University now has 25 LEED certified buildings Vanderbilt has PETAL and WELL-designed buildings (certifications pending) The Commons was the first set of buildings to receive LEED certification on campus When certified, Nicholas S. Zeppos Residential College will be Vanderbilt’s first Platinum LEED-certified building In 2020, Vanderbilt was honored with the 2020 Leadership Award from the U.S. Green...
Vanderbilt creates Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate
Apr. 1, 2024—Vanderbilt University will harness its global expertise in scientific discovery, technological innovation, public policy, law and education to launch the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate (VSEC). The multimillion-dollar investment follows a recommendation by an interdisciplinary working group to address the crucial societal challenge of ensuring a sustainable world. It is the latest center...
WATCH: 5 sustainability efforts you may not know about at Vanderbilt (Part Two)
Mar. 28, 2024—Did you know that Vanderbilt is carbon neutral? There are sustainability programs going on all over campus that contribute to continually lowering the university’s carbon footprint. Watch chemical engineering major Sarah Siman, Class of 2025, highlight five sustainability efforts at our university that you might not know about. Want to learn about five more? Watch Part...
Vanderbilt to participate in Earth Hour to raise awareness of climate change
Mar. 22, 2024—Things to Know: Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 when more than 2.2 million people turned off their lights for one hour. In 2023, Earth Hour saw over 410,000 hours pledged to the Hour Bank. Vanderbilt University, and many Nashville businesses and organizations, participate annually in Earth Hour to raise awareness about climate change. Anyone can participate by...
Sustainability, transportation and environmental efforts highlighted in FutureVU FY2023 Progress Report
Mar. 22, 2024—What you need to know: FutureVU is the overarching campus planning process in support of Vanderbilt’s Academic Strategic Plan. The annual report provides an overview of progress around the core themes of connectivity and community enhancement, diversity and inclusion, accessibility, environmental sustainability and the preservation of the university’s historic, park-like setting. Highlights of the report...
Voluntary Household Actions Contribute 40% of Cumulative Emissions Reductions under the IIJA and IRA
Mar. 4, 2024—The role of household actions in reducing carbon emissions worldwide has been hotly debated, but the United States data confirm their significance. In 2021, households accounted for roughly one third of U.S. CO2 emissions, with the residential sector representing over 19% and passenger and light duty vehicles representing another 22%. A new paper from Vanderbilt...
Climate storytelling at Vanderbilt: Mary Annaïse Heglar highlights “The Highs and Lows of Climate Grief”
Feb. 20, 2024—Writers, artists and scholars of the environmental humanities have opened a parallel discussion about climate change—one that examines not just what the climate crisis is, but how it feels—that has grown steadily louder. A leading voice in this discourse is Mary Annaïse Heglar, whose work uses storytelling in fiction and nonfiction to depict the emotional landscape of the...
Vanderbilt greenhouse gas emissions drop 11 percent since last year and 35 percent since 2016, sustainability report shows
Jan. 31, 2024—What you need to know: Vanderbilt University’s greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 11 percent overall since fiscal year 2022. Emissions have dropped 35 percent since 2016 (the first year Vanderbilt reported emissions separately from VUMC). Commuting emissions decreased 64 percent between FY22 and FY23 due to increases in telecommuting and greater insights into commuting behaviors. ...
Curb Center launches Vanderbilt Eco-Grief Initiative
Jan. 29, 2024—The Curb Center is pleased to announce the Vanderbilt Eco-Grief Initiative, a yearlong collaborative project that will use art as a tool to investigate the complex set of emotions—sorrow, guilt, terror, complicity and a range of others—that come to mind as we contemplate our changing climate and witness its effects on earthly life. By engaging artists...