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.
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities' new Climate Action Plan (CAP) looks toward the future of sustainability on campus. The U of M has already cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 51%, No. 2 in the Big Ten for carbon cuts.
Learn more about how the U of M is creating a sustainable campus and future!
A new sustainability club on the Twin Cities campus, UMN Seedlings, collaborated with M Food Co. to put on a sustainable lunch event this past April. Using HowGood, a food sustainability database, UMN Seedlings were able to create an environmentally friendly meal plan aimed to raise environmental awareness in the campus community. Learn more
by Ella Chilson
University of Minnesota undergraduate and graduate student individuals and groups recently received Systemwide Sustainability Student Impact Awards during April’s Sustainability Symposium for their efforts leading the way toward a future in which people and the environment prosper together. Learn more
For the second year in a row, the University of Minnesota (U of M) participated in the Times Higher Ed Impact Rankings (THE Impact Rankings), which in 2023 ranked submissions for 1,591 institutions from 112 countries/regions. The U of M ranked eighth in the U.S. for the overall ranking and in the 101-200 range worldwide.
The U of M is a founding member of the Minnesota Cleantech Consortium, announced today at the Minnesota Cleantech Innovation Day. Learn more
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities has earned a STARS® Gold rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS®) measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. Learn more
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Climate Action Plan will be presented as part of the MPact 2025 Sustainability update to the Board of Regents on Thursday, May 11th during the Board's Finance and Operations Committee meeting! Show your support for the Climate Action Plan! Learn more:
If you are anything like me, Molly Vagle, and love to buy a bunch of fresh produce and vegetables to have on hand in your home for meals or snacks- then you know the struggle of trying to use all your produce before it goes bad. Food waste is a big environmental issue that has implications on the planet and greenhouse gas emissions. Storing vegetables correctly is the first step in making sure the produce is good for use and does not end up in the trash! Learn more:
It’s just about move-out time! Need to move or downsize and don't know what to do with your stuff? Donate items to the Pack and Give Back program! Store your stuff with the Student Summer Storage program! Learn more:
Apply today for the Student Sustainability Communications Assistant position! Learn more