Green Building
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...
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 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. ...
Vanderbilt preserves history through the salvaged remains of the Bicentennial Oak
Jun. 29, 2023—The Bicentennial Oak, the only tree on Vanderbilt’s campus known to predate the founding of the university, fell in November due to age-related decay. Estimated to be about 250 years old, the bur oak was one of the most recognizable trees on campus, and it served as a landmark near Garland Hall for generations of Vanderbilt...
Sustainability, mobility and transportation efforts highlighted in FutureVU FY2022 Progress Report
May. 5, 2023—Vanderbilt University made significant progress toward its FutureVU goals in fiscal year 2022, as outlined in the annual progress report. FutureVU is a high-level, holistic framework for the development of campus’s built and exterior environments. That framework gives direction to campus projects and considers core themes such as community enhancement, connectivity, inclusion, accessibility and sustainability. Highlights from...
Engineering group goes to Israel to study water recycling leader’s operations, research
Mar. 14, 2023—Engineering professors and students will spend their 2023 spring break in Israel to learn about the country’s water recycling programs and bring those lessons back to share with Sterling Ranch, a 21st century sustainable city south of Denver, Colorado, that has doubled as a training site and test bed for Vanderbilt students and professors since 2015. Sterling...
Vanderbilt to begin utility and infrastructure upgrades for campus growth
Jan. 27, 2023—Vanderbilt University is making extensive upgrades to its utilities and other infrastructure as it prepares for campus growth. The Central Utilities Initiative, scheduled to begin in February 2023, will provide enhancements to support various Vandy United projects, the Highland Quad Residential Colleges that will be built along 25th Avenue South, and other future projects. “The Central Utilities Initiative...
Vanderbilt University to host PARK(ing) Day Sept. 16
Sep. 9, 2022—Vanderbilt University is home to a variety of student living centers and residential colleges that provide not only an academic experience, but also a sense of community for students within their residential lives on campus. In the larger Nashville community, however, there is a lack of affordable housing and a significant unhoused population. At Vanderbilt’s...
Three new residential colleges planned for Highland Quad
Jul. 27, 2022—Vanderbilt University is embarking on the next phase of its residential colleges program with the reenvisioning of Highland Quadrangle along 25th Avenue South. The initiative, which includes construction of three new residential colleges for upper-division students, will build upon the successful living-learning environments already in place on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons and in the West End Neighborhood. “Our residential colleges create a...
Graduate and professional student housing project celebrates milestones with topping out ceremony, announces Turnip Truck as first retail business
May. 2, 2022—Vanderbilt’s graduate and professional student housing project reached two milestones in April: the placement of the final steel structural beam of the building, and the announcement of the first retail business to occupy the space, the Turnip Truck. Topping out ceremony In a topping out ceremony April 21, campus leaders and members of Balfour Beatty...