UB Sustainability

Hochul announces $68M for UB decarbonization project

UB’s clean energy master plan received a major boost with $68 million to decarbonize the central utility plant, create energy hubs and thermal energy networks, and build geothermal wells as part of a campus-wide effort to phase out fossil fuel-based systems and replace them with on-site electrical systems.

New EV Charging Lot on North Campus

4/15/25

New electric vehicle charging stations have been installed at the Beane Lot on North Campus for university-owned vehicles.

Organics Collection Expands to Student Apartments

10/9/25

Last spring, a pilot program was launched at South Lake Village to explore options for introducing organics collection in on-campus apartments. The program was well received by South Lake staff and students, and end-of-semester feedback indicated they appreciated the opportunity to take action by reducing the amount of waste they generated.

High-Quality Carbon Credits: UB Climate Neutrality

9/8/25

UB has become the first SUNY campus to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing high-quality carbon credits as part of its comprehensive climate neutrality strategy.

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GRoW Clean Energy Center

Hired Boutique

UB’s Recycling Guidelines

Watch the UB Falcons

UB’s Climate Action Plan

Sustainability News

Empire AI powers bold new research at UB, from surgery to climate science
12/15/25
As Empire AI advances to its second phase, UB researchers are harnessing its supercomputing power to tackle societal issues like sustainable food production. The AI serves as a digital expert in agriculture and climate science, training a large language model that comprehends agricultural concepts and links visual data with complex climate and farming questions.
Tracking forever chemicals across food web shows not all isomers are distributed equally
12/15/25
UB researchers found that the toxic chemical PFOS bioaccumulates differently in the food web, with more harmful linear isomers becoming dominant in fish-eating birds. This indicates that PFAS isomers should not be considered chemically equivalent in environmental monitoring and regulation.
Exhibition asks visitors to listen like an oyster
12/12/25
“Serenades for Settling” is an immersive, interdisciplinary exhibition that explores how human-made underwater noise affects oysters, combining marine ecology, acoustics research, robotics, performance, and real-time data to make hidden soundscapes perceptible.

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UB Achieves STARS gold

7/10/25

The University at Buffalo has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability, earning recognition from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) as a STARS gold university. This achievement places UB among the top 1.6 percent of colleges and universities in North America.

Climate Action Plan

7/10/25

UB developed a world-class climate action plan with one-, three- and five-year goals for six committees that span the university’s sustainability spectrum.

UB among Top 25 in U.S. for environmental, social impact

12/16/24

UB has been recognized as one of the top universities in the world — and a Top 25 university in the U.S. — for environmental and social impact. That’s according to the 2025 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, released by higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds.

UB Ranked Among Nation’s 25 Best Green Colleges

7/10/25

UB came in at No. 22 on College Consensus’ 25 Best Green Colleges list, highlighting the nation’s leading institutions in sustainability. UB was recognized for its ability to generate its green power thanks to the Solar Strand, SteelWinds, and other efforts and its leadership in Localizing Buffalo’s Renewable Energy Future.

EPA: Green Power Partnership National Top 100

7/10/25

The University at Buffalo is honored to rank among the EPA’s Green Power Partnership National Top 100, thanks to our leadership in using clean, renewable solar and wind power.

UB wins Environmental Excellence Award from the NY DEC

7/10/25

UB reduced its carbon footprint by 33% each of the last three years by transitioning to renewable energy sources through a host of initiatives and leveraging innovative power purchase agreements to assist with its goal of achieving 100% renewable energy.

Top 10 on America's Top Colleges for Renewable Energy Ranking

7/10/25

UB is No. 10 on the Environment America list, which was compiled by gathering data from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and ranking 180 qualifying colleges using their Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) scores from the past three years.

UB Recognized as a Top ‘Green’ University

7/10/25

The University at Buffalo has been recognized as one of the 50 most environmentally friendly universities in the United States by Online Schools Center, a website dedicated to higher education news. UB ranked #23 and was noted for its various eco-friendly initiatives, which include finding ways to supply affordable renewable energy to communities, assessing our local food system to increase access to healthy fruits and vegetables and promoting zero-waste in on-campus activites.

UB again ranks among nation’s best in measure of global health, climate action, sustainability research

7/10/25

UB ranks among the top 20 colleges and universities in the U.S. for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, working to alleviate poverty and enhancing global health through innovative research, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings of sustainability measures.

UB recognized as bicycle-friendly university

7/10/25

The League of American Bicyclists, the premier grassroots advocacy organization encouraging better bicycling and protecting the rights of people who bike, honored the University at Buffalo with a silver-level Bicycle Friendly University Award in recognition of the institution’s achievements in promoting and enabling safe, accessible bicycling on campus.

UB’s climate action efforts rank No. 1 in the world in THE Impact Rankings

8/12/25

UB is the global leader in higher education when it comes to climate action, according to the 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which rank UB No. 1 in the world in addressing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) related to climate action.

UB Named to Princeton Review’s Green College Honor Roll

7/10/25

UB was named to The Princeton Review’s 2022 Green College Honor Roll for earning the highest possible score in the publication’s Green Rating. For the 2022 ratings, The Princeton Review tallied Green Rating scores for 835 colleges. The Green Rating, which ranges from 6o to a maximum of 99, provides a comprehensive measure of a school's performance as an environmentally aware and prepared institution.

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