This is where change begins.
Our Timeline
Fifty years ago, millions of people across the United States took part in more than 12,000 events to mark the first Earth Day. That moment sparked a movement that led to great change. At UB, it signaled the beginning of five decades of advancing environmental stewardship and sustainability. To mark this occasion we have gathered the following key achievements that have occurred over the past five decades.
- 2024 Roll out of greenhouse gas emission carbon intensity rating system for food courts
- 2024 new mass transit contract transitions nearly 50% of buses to electric
- 2024 North Campus Clean Energy Master Plan launched to create a decarbonization plan for the North Campus
- 2023 UB hosts the Nature Conservancy’s Voices, Choice and Action summit bringing together over 150 global indigenous leaders
- 2023 South Campus Clean Energy Master Plan completed and establishes a roadmap for the decarbonization of the South Campus
- 2023 UB Climate Action Plan introduces three Integrators to compliment strategy: Climate Action, Resilience, and Leveraging the Academy
- 2022 Climate Action Captains release initial emission reduction strategies at annual Earth Day Climate Action Update
- 2022 UB initiates front of house composting options with the opening of One World Cafe
- 2022 UB launches Student Sustainability Impact Team which provides sustainability services across campus
- 2022 UB “flips the switch” on new campus solar installation making it one of the largest on-campus producers of renewable energy in higher education
- 2021 the NYS DEC awards UB its Annual Environmental Excellence Award
- 2021 UB begins to scale EV charging by offering over 30 charging units on campus
- 2021 The GRoW Clean Energy Center opens and is permanently located adjacent to the Solar Strand
- 2021 Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings recognize UB No. 3 in climate action among 250 institutions worldwide and No. 1 in the United States
- 2020 UB College of Arts and Sciences receives $3 million Mellon grant to formally establish the Indigenous Studies Department
- 2020 UB announces innovative 10 in 10 plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2030
- 2019 the student Carbon Reduction Challenge initiative launched
- 2019 Sustainability (Superstar) Stories launched
- 2019 UB’s virtual food pantry, Blue Table opens
- 2019 First Sustainability Camp offered with School of Engineering
- 2019 UB College of Arts and Sciences creates Dept. of Environment and Sustainability
- 2018 UB opens LEED Gold Medical School
- 2017 UB student teams begin participating in Erie Hack and World’s Challenge Challenge innovation competitions advancing the time between entrepreneurship, purpose, and sustainability
- 2017 UB commits to inclusive excellence in all aspects of university operations and creates Office of Inclusive Excellence
- 2016 UBReUSE move-out collection program established
- 2016 First ELFS: Education and Leadership Fellows in Sustainability cohort created. Students deep dive into sustainability with a chance to develop a program to decrease UB’s environmental impacts.
- 2016 UB wins New York State Energy to Lead award to advance scaling renewables
- 2016 UB Receives EPA Green Power Leadership Award
- 2015 UB Receives STARS Gold status by AASHE (repeating this designation in 2018 and 2022)
- 2015 Annual Sustainable Leadership, Innovation and Collaborative Engagement (SLICE) awards established
- 2015 UB School of A&P places 2nd nationally in Solar Decathlon with the GRoW Home
- 2014 the Western New York Sustainable Business Roundtable created with UB anchoring support
- 2014 RENEW Institute created
- 2013 UB launches first group of EV charging units
- 2013 One Region Forward launched, a collaborative effort to guide sustainable development in Erie & Niagara Counties
- 2013 UB launches bike share program
- 2012 UB hosts SUNY-wide Sustainability Conference
- 2012 UB submits 1st AASHE STARS report to track & measure sustainability performance across university operations
- 2012 first Earth Week activities on campus
- 2012 UB celebrates opening of several LEED buildings (including the first LEED residence hall) and the Solar Strand. The Strand becomes the most publicly accessible renewable energy landscape in the country
- 2010 UB begins processing of pre-consumer compost on campus
- 2010 WNY Environmental Alliance created with UB anchoring support
- 2009 UB releases first Climate Action Plan, and sets 2030 goal for carbon neutrality
- 2007 UB becomes initial signatory of American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment
- 2007 Greener Shade of Blue campaign brings renowned environmentalists to campus for Distinguished Speakers series including Vice President, Al Gore; Jean Michel Cousteau; and Nobel Prize winner, Wangari Maathi
- 2006 UB unveils its 1st solar electric system generating 73.5 kW to help power Norton Hall
- 2004 UB publishes "UB High Performance Building Guidelines" as a model for sustainable construction
- 2003 UB achieves the first LEED building designation in WNY for Creekside Village Community Center
- 2003 UB becomes NY’s largest purchaser of wind energy & named “Environmentalist of the Year” for efforts by Environmental Advocates of NY
- 2002 “Green home” prototypes designed by School of Architecture & Planning students win top prize at Northeast Sustainable Energy Associations’ “Building Energy 2002 Conference”
- 1999 UB President William Greiner signs international Talloires Declaration, committed to environmental sustainability in teaching, research, service, and operations
- 1998 UB receives Association of Energy Engineers “Energy Project of the Year” Award
- 1998 UB Environment & Society Institute created to promote interdisciplinary research to resolve local environmental problems
- 1995 National Wildlife Federation recognizes UB’s energy conservation leadership within higher education
- 1990 Environmental Task Force (ETF) established by faculty, staff & students committed to reducing UB’s environmental footprint and advances policies to reduce UB’s environmental impacts
- 1987 UB receives $2.6 million energy conservation grant
- 1985 Great Lakes Program created
- 1982 UB hires first Energy Officer and establishes “Conserve UB”
- 1978 Prof. Adeline Levine & students engage in Love Canal work
- 1977 UB Air Quality Program established
- 1976 Environmental Studies Center created
- 1972 UB starts recycling newspapers
- 1971 Rachel Carson College established to increase environmental education at UB
- April 22, 1970 Ralph Nader celebrates the FIRST Earth Day at UB
Dedicated students, faculty and staff identified the university’s key sustainability priorities and objectives as we continue to strive toward integrating sustainability across all aspects of our research, teaching, operations and engagement work. Below are the University Sustainability Objectives and committee level goals as put forth by the University’s Stewardship Committee and working groups.
- Create the next generation of globally-minded, sustainably-literate citizens and leaders
- Integrate sustainability into the fabric of campus culture
- Develop circular UB economy
- Mitigate and adapt to the new climate reality
- Build a resilient and sustainable Buffalo/Niagara region
- Increase student opportunities to learn and practice the principles of sustainability
- Encourage faculty to integrate sustainability into curriculum by developing flexible modules
- Provide incentives and support for faculty to develop new sustainability curriculum
- Develop sustainability curricular component requirement for students prior to graduation
- Incorporate concepts of “sustainability” in existing UB research at all levels
- Encourage new research that supports the simultaneous consideration of environmental, economic, and social systems and the long-term viability of these systems.
- Encourage wide dissemination of research outputs to increase research impact
- Create a zero waste economy
- Reduce average energy consumption by 20% by 2020 and achieve climate neutrality by 2030
- Encourage design excellence and robust, sustainable land use policies
- Use physical infrastructure and operations as a teaching tool for sustainability
- Build community by setting examples and model desired behaviors
- Communicate values clearly and establish visible presence of sustainable practices
- Provide authentic opportunities for contribution
