UB Sustainability

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. 

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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 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. 

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