The University of Minnesota Twin Cities is excited to be a Host Institution for this year’s Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education, a virtual conference taking place on three separate dates - Oct. 18, Oct. 26, and Nov. 3, 2022. GCSHE offers 3 full days of live content and networking, plus eighty days of on-demand access (through December 31). As a Host Institution, we have 100 registration passes for our campus only and unique opportunities to be recognized for our commitment to sustainability. Sign up using the instructions below to gain free access to this great event: The University's participation as a host institution is made possible through support from The Office of Sustainability and Sustainability Education at the Institute on the Environment.
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Registration is open to all students, faculty, and staff on the Twin Cities campus. The first 100 participants can use the host institution code UNITWIN140822 and your University email address to register for free by November 3rd!
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The GCSHE is the largest stage to exchange effective models, policies, research, collaborations, and transformative actions that advance sustainability in higher education and surrounding communities. Humanity faces a series of intensifying and interrelated social and ecological crises. Solving these crises requires a holistic transformation: a shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. With a theme of “The Urgency of Now,”* this year’s Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (#GCSHE) is a clarion call for transformative sustainability solutions that match the speed and scale of the challenges we face.
We hope you will be able to join us as we explore, reexamine, and re-envision sustainability in higher education.
Learn more about the AASHE Conference
View the conference schedule at-a-glance (*NOTE that times listed are in Eastern Daylight Time!)
*The theme takes inspiration from the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who in his 1963 I Have A Dream speech remarked: “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.” He uttered the phrase again in his 1967 speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence when he said, “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.” Those five powerful words are just as poignant today as they were in 1963 and 1967. On climate change as well as on matters of social justice, there is such a thing as being ‘too late,” as he famously noted.
April is Earth Month! Check out our frequently updated list of events to get involved. Check it out.
Join us Friday, March 22nd from 10-11am for a chat from sustainable aviation fuel experts!
We'll be hearing from three speakers, Pat Gruber, CEO of Gevo, Shiri Ramaswamy, professor in Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering at UMN, and William Northrop, professor in Mechanical Engineering at UMN.
Join the Twin Cities Sustainability Committee (TCSC)! The committee was launched in the fall of 2021 with a charge of guiding the MPact 2025 goal to “Build a fully sustainable future” as stated in the Systemwide Strategic Plan. Moving forward, the committee’s work will advise the Twin Cities Office of Sustainability on all activities, inclusive of operations, teaching, research, and outreach. This committee is open to staff, faculty, undergraduate & graduate students. Apply by 4/1.
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University of Minnesota Twin Cities has won the 2023 GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge in the Food Organics Per Capita category!
This achievement underscores our commitment to waste reduction, putting sustainability at the forefront of our athletic spaces.
The 2023-2024 Systemwide Sustainability Report for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents is now available!
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is aiming to make public buildings like hospitals and schools more resilient against future disasters by paying to install solar panels when they are rebuilt. Read more
Join us for the Climate Resilience & Adaptation Open House!
Wednesday, February 21st, 2024, 3-5pm
1425 University Ave, room 175
Your opinion matters! Join the Office of Sustainability on Wednesday, February 21st from 3pm to 5pm at 1425 University Ave to review and provide insights on the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan objectives and strategies. We want to hear what you think - tell us what we missed or what resonates with you. Open house format - come and go as you please. Light refreshments provided.
Fall 2023 Sustainability Advocates from SUST3480 conducted a recent Campus Engagement Project at the University of Minnesota aimed to improve the satisfaction and sustainability of the campus transportation system (Gopher Trip). They distributed a Sustainable Transportation Survey, gathering responses from 57 students to assess current challenges and future possibilities.
Do you have input regarding the University of Minnesota Twin Cities' Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program? Submit your feedback using this public comment form, open year-round. Learn more about the U of M stormwater program.
Research results recently published in Nature show that global forest lands could store enough carbon to soak up one-third of annual fossil fuel emissions for decades to come. But only after significant conservation, restoration, and sustainable management practices are implemented.