UW System Campus Profiles
This page features individual campus sustainability program descriptions, primary sustainability contacts, primary surplus contacts, website information, social media profiles, and more.
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Review the UW System Sustainability Communication Guidelines for more information about contacting UW System Sustainability staff and students.
Campus Profiles Directory
UW-Eau Claire
About US
Our Student Office of Sustainability (S.O.S.) is one of nine commissions within our Student Senate. Our general assembly of students meets on a weekly basis to discuss the allocation of “The Green Fund” – a budget of roughly 184,000 dollars in student segregated fees. These funds are allocated to foster sustainability in our campus community through innovation, education, and foundational improvements. Campus community members are invited to submit proposals for consideration by the body requesting funding for initiatives that benefit our students through sustainability.
Student Office of sustainability Website – Surplus Website – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- Brian Drollinger, Director of Risk Management, Safety and Sustainability
Surplus Contact
- Matt Haller, Inventory Control Coordinator
UW-Green Bay
About
Sustainability at UW-Green Bay, where “green” is more than a part of our name. Whether you look at the vast natural areas on campus, our educational philosophy, or our history – dedicating ourselves to a sustainable future has been important here ever since our founding. Our dedication to sustainability is part of our University’s select mission statement, it’s part of our history as Eco U, it’s part of every student’s general education classroom experience, and it’s part of how we look at what we want to accomplish now and in the future as part of our continuing campus strategy.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile
Sustainability Contact
- John Arendt, Director of Environmental Management and Business Institute
Surplus Contact
- Colleen Cowling, Receiving Area Coordinator
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- The O2GO by OZZI reusable dining container program was implemented for students, faculty, and staff in fall 2018.
- UW-Green Bay submitted an application for the US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award.
- The annual Sustainability Pledge was issued in fall 2018 and successfully resulted in a total of 1018 participants.
- UW-Green Bay established convenient access to the new Green Bay Metro College Express route and continues to offer free Green Bay Metro bus passes to students. The campus also provided LimeBikes for students this fall through the city-wide bike share program.
- This spring, the Sustainability Committee is sponsoring a Sustainability Teaching Development Grant to support professional development activities or projects that lead to the infusion of sustainability into any aspect of teaching.
UW-La Crosse
About
Sustainability is a spectrum, not a destination. We are not here to define the word. We are here to live up to it.
The idea of sustainability is fluid, changing over time and meaning different things to different people. We, the University of Wisconsin La Crosse community, define sustainability as being both a local and global interaction between economy, environment, and society. Through education and programming, we will provide students, faculty, staff, and the community with the knowledge and skills to be environmentally responsible citizens who consider the effects of their actions and the actions of others around them.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile
Sustainability Contact
- Dan Sweetman, Environmental Health and Safety Program Manager
Surplus Contact
- Dan Quam, Business Manager – Facilities Planning & Management
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- Ongoing LED fixture installation in all campus remodeling projects, primarily replacing 32W T8 linear fluorescents.
- Installed 29 VFD’s in nine Buildings resulting in $92,000 in energy savings over two years.
- Completed multiyear project to install LED lights in all Parking Lots. The LED fixture reduces energy consumption by 65% compared to a 400W metal halide fixture.
- Received LEED Gold Certification from USGBC for new 203,000 square foot Student Union Building.
- Completed construction and occupancy of new 190,000 square foot Science Lab Building built to LEED Silver.
- Completed installation of 50,000 KV photoelectric system on Addition to Student Recreational Eagle Center. Project funds provided through UWL Student Green Fund.
- Completed multiyear project to install new approximate 85-gallon semi-instantaneous hot water heaters in all legacy residence halls that had large (e.g., 1000 gallon) storage tanks.
UW-Madison
About
The University of Wisconsin–Madison works to integrate and enhance research and education efforts in sustainability science and practice across all parts of campus. UW–Madison has a long history of scholarship in a broad range of topics relevant to sustainability, from using recycled industrial materials in infrastructure to ensuring the sustainability of rural agricultural communities. Creating solutions for the sustainability challenges of the future will require dynamic teams and a comprehensive approach that addresses sustainability problems such as water, finance, energy, health, food, and community. Addressing these challenges will require an educated workforce that is trained to consider sustainability broadly.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- Missy Nergard, Director of Sustainability
Surplus Contact
- Matt Thies, SWAP Operations Supervisor
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- Hired first Director for Sustainability, Missy Nergard.
- Housing Ticket to Takeout reusable dining container program launched Fall 2018 using OZZI containers.
- Internship Program: Went from 9 -> 12 -> 15 interns over the course of a year. Started with two intern teams, now have seven (Green Office, Green Labs, Green Events, Green Greeks, Transportation, Communications, Waste and Recycling). Nearly all ‘Green’ teams have created certification programs for their respective audiences.
- Green Fund highlights:
- Low-flow toilets: 41 high-efficiency toilets were installed on a $6,000 investment, expected to save $37,000 in operating costs and over 6 million gallons of water annually.
- Compost Stewards: expanding composting to Green Offices by providing training and resources.
- Hydration Stations: refillable water stations to be used at Move-In/Out and larger events to replace plastic water bottles. If every student at Move-In filled their reusable water bottle (provided by UW Housing) just once instead of grabbing a plastic water bottle, it could save almost 200 pounds of plastic and over 1500 kg in carbon emissions.
- Compost System: UW-Madison switched from in-house windrow composting to an anaerobic manure digester operated out of Middleton. Through a partnership with Gundersen Health System, we now drop off our compost at their digester. This includes a depackager that helps to sort out contamination.
- Recycle Right campaign in the most visited library on campus. This campaign aims to educate students on how to recycle properly, compared to “aspirationally” recycling anything. This campaign included a student project on waste behaviors at College Library, a release of newly designed and targeted signage designed by a graduate student, and social media engagements.
UW-Milwaukee
About Us
Stewardship of resources that promote sustainability, prosperity, and equity for all in the local and global communities.
The Office of Sustainability at UW-Milwaukee, founded in 2008, assesses, supports, and drives sustainability initiatives across campus operations, student life, and throughout academic affairs. By building cross-campus and community collaborations, integrating sustainability into campus planning initiatives, assessing impacts over the long term, and working from our own sense of place and purpose, UW-Milwaukee manages its resources wisely and makes sustainability relevant to its teaching and research mission
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- Kate Nelson, Chief Sustainability Officer
Surplus Contact
- Andrew Avery-Johnson, uwmsrpls@uwm.edu
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- Hired first Waste & Recycling Coordinator for the campus after undertaking Resource Management Contracting, justified the position through savings
- Our Learn.Earn.Grow youth urban agriculture jobs program completed two successful years, and the third is going through revisions to relaunch in 2019
- The campus is currently undergoing retro-commissioning and upgrading lighting in order to stay on top of large energy savings from previous years. By selling carbon credits on the open market through Second Nature’s Carbon Credit Purchasing Program and by collecting rebates from Focus on Energy, UWM was able to create a new account to do energy conservation projects from.
UW-Oshkosh
About Us
With a deep sense of responsibility and the increasingly common vision of resilient, prosperous communities, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is committed to progressively reducing its ecological footprint and fashioning a durable and better world through its academic mission. Our innovations in sustainability at UW Oshkosh are being integrated into all university functions and operations. Our actions involve reducing consumption and wastes, generating and purchasing renewable energy, curbing pollution, green building and purchasing, sustainable landscapes, and infusing sustainability into the curriculum, outreach, and research.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- Brad Spanbauer, Sustainability Coordinator
Surplus Contact
- Troy Hart, Manager of Services – UWO Postal/Document/Receiving Services
UW-Parkside
Sustainability Contact
Surplus Contact
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- Parkside completed first ever participation in a green survey, UI Green Metric
- Parkside hosted a Racine/Kenosha area group comprised of higher education leadership (Gateway and Carthage) as well as representatives from City of Racine and City of Kenosha and the public school districts in two cities to meet and discuss sustainability goals and leveraging resources to promote sustainability in the immediate region of Racine and Kenosha.
UW-Platteville
About US
Much like higher education, sustainability is about investing in the future. Sustainability it is fundamentally about helping make sure that we don’t deplete the resources needed by humans of tomorrow. It is not a state that we can simply “achieve,” but it is a way of life that we constantly can work to improve upon. Every individual at UW-Platteville has the gift to make our campus a more sustainable place, simply through the actions that they choose to take!
UW-Platteville’s sustainability work is rooted in the concept that every individual can strive to live sustainably and through doing so, have a positive impact on their own lives, our campus, and the entire planet.
To this end, the UW-Platteville Office of Sustainability works across campus to educate and build awareness of sustainability, inspire and motivate our community to be sustainable, and research and implement best sustainability practices in our campus operations.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- VACANT, Sustainability Coordinator
Surplus Contact
- VACANT, Waste Minimization Coordinator
UW-River Falls
About Us
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls endeavors to engage students, faculty, staff and the wider community, through hands-on educational and volunteer opportunities, to further expand our shared integrity as socially, economically, and environmentally responsible citizens.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- Mark Klapatch, Sustainability and Custodial Supervisor
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- 1st AASHE STARS Gold Rating
- The Office of Sustainability now has a physical office
- Funding was received to hire 3 interns for the 2019-2020 academic year. Funding also included for hosting events and for interns to attend conferences
- Held Sustainability Across the Curriculum Workshop for faculty and Instructional Academic Staff
- Will be participating in the sustainability portion of NSSE in 2019
UW-Stevens Point
About Us
UW-Stevens Point is committed to sustainability and its practice in our daily operations. Sustainability is the human enterprise of living to meet today’s needs without compromising the needs of future generations, and to be ecologically sound, socially just, culturally affirming, politically doable and economically viable. We demonstrate our commitment to sustainability through such measures as resource recovery (recycling), composting food waste, energy reduction and continually exploring ideas to promote and support sustainability initiatives.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- Dave Barbier, Sustainability Coordinator
Surplus Contact
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- 3rd Consecutive AASHE STARS Gold Certification
- National Recycling Coalition Outstanding Higher Education Award Winner
- Completed Campus Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan
- Host of the Annual UW System Sustainability Meeting
- Increased paid student staffing positions to Four
- Installed two permanent outdoor bike repair stations
- Worked with the DNR Subcommittee FORRM (Food & Organics Residual Reduction Management) group
- GreenFund Allocations
- Battery Powered Landscaping Equipment for Facility Services
- Theater and and Dance storage space for set item reuse storage, and inventory
- 4000 Reusable Green on the Go containers for Dining and Summer conferences
- 19KW Solar PV system for Treehaven Field Station
UW-Stout
About uS
We coordinate and manage UW-Stout’s sustainability priorities and projects, from energy to waste to transportation and much more. We work to engage students and staff in our campus’ many sustainability initiatives, to build a culture of sustainability at UW-Stout.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- VACANT, Sustainability Manager
Surplus Contact
- Steve Soden, Materials Management Supervisor
UW-Superior
Student Sustainability Club Website – Surplus Website
Surplus Contact
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- Working to increase recycling in the Residence Halls through accessibility and education
- Collaborating with various entities on campus to reduce the use of disposable plastics on campus and change to compostable and/ or reusable containers.
- Working on proposing and passing a Green Fund
- Increasing signage and educational resources throughout campus to expand awareness of sustainable attributes of campus facilities
- Added signage to recycling containers to help educate users on the waste stream
- Planning underway for Earth Week activities
- Started a Sustainability Working Group of students, faculty, and staff interested in improving sustainable actions on campus
- Starting a program with Chartwells to incentive using your own straws, mugs, cups, plates, and flatware. A punch card is punched each time you use a reusable. After 10 (20, 30, etc.) punches you can get a free coffee or free bamboo ware set.
UW-Whitewater
About Us
Sustainability programs at UW–Whitewater are designed to improve the education and awareness of environmental sustainability issues through infusion in academic programs, student life, campus operations, and local communities. Efforts include guest lectures, themed tours, and hands-on student projects that leverage the campus as a living laboratory for studying sustainability issues and solutions. Students are also encouraged to engage in co-curricular activities designed to foster consideration of their own practices and to have a positive impact through educational events and community service projects.
Sustainability Website – Surplus Website – AASHE STARS Profile – Facebook
Sustainability Contact
- Wesley Enterline, Sustainability Coordinator
Surplus Contact
- Josh Filer, Inventory Control Supervisor
2018 Campus Update from the UW System Sustainability Meeting
- Internship Program: We have been focused on building our student employment program by providing more support and training through regular weekly meeting schedules and have launched an Operations Intern program focused on different aspects of the STARS Operations credits. We’ve added Food and Dining, Waste, Transportation, and Grounds so far.
- Bike Culture: Starting to review our bicycle infrastructure by taking on the Bicycle Friendly University assessment. We continue to look for a bike share option but will re-launch our existing bike share next semester through Parking Services.
- Transportation: We have been involved in a Transportation and Logistics group and focused on providing alternative transportation options and better promoting the programs we already have in place.
- Cupanion: Faculty on our campus attended AASHE and got interested in Cupanion. First Year Experience is also interested, so we are currently exploring implementation in spring.
- Academic and Faculty Engagement
- Garden Party: We held our first faculty and staff-focused networking dinner at the campus garden. Despite the mosquitos, we had great weather and made a nice range of contacts. We hope to host something similar in conjunction with the Office of the Provost during faculty orientation week in August next year.
- Classroom Visits: We have done more class visits for guest lectures and student project consultation this semester than any other previous semester. This is a result of a focused effort to branch out more in academics as part of our LEAP project and to extend our role to facilitate using the campus as a living laboratory.