Sustainability

Vanderbilt Campus Dining is partnering with Fill it Forward this fall to offer reusable to-go containers at all residential dining halls, including The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons and E. Bronson Ingram, Rothschild and Zeppos Colleges. Undergraduate students will receive one free container that can be used at the all-you-care-to-eat residential dining locations, then returned for cleaning and sanitizing. Read More

Two leading energy companies that used a Vanderbilt-pioneered process to develop safer nuclear reactors received a prestigious technology award from the Electric Power Research Institute in June. Read More

Faculty, representatives from the Office of Research and Innovation and the Office of Government and Community Relations share mobility, smart city, community resiliency, and transit technologies and solutions being developed, built and deployed by Vanderbilt and throughout the region and build connections for future collaborations. Read More

Vanderbilt University is embarking on the next phase of its residential colleges program with the reenvisioning of Highland Quadrangle along 25th Avenue South. The initiative, which includes construction of three new residential colleges for upper-division students, will build upon the successful living-learning environments already in place. Read More

Vanderbilt’s graduate and professional student housing project reached two milestones in April: the placement of the final steel structural beam of the building, and the announcement of the first retail business to occupy the space, the Turnip Truck.  Read More

Vanderbilt engineers are collaborating with the University of Alabama on a research project that uses recycled glass to enhance building materials, create sustainable infrastructure and reduce waste. Read More

To help Metro Nashville and the its Sustainability Advisory Committee better understand the climate mitigation strategies that are most important to you, please take this survey. Community feedback from this survey will help determine next steps to address climate change in Nashville.  Read More

Vanderbilt Law School professor Michael Vandenbergh will discuss bipartisan efforts to address climate change and sustainability with environmental activist Benji Backer in a virtual event on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 12:30 p.m. hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy. Read More

Vanderbilt University has been awarded two Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certifications for the School of Nursing building and 1101 19th Avenue South, formerly the Disciples of Christ building. The university now has 24 LEED-certified buildings as designated by the U.S. Green Building Council.   Read More

A bold partnership that will help Vanderbilt University power its campus entirely through renewable energy has moved forward with the Jan. 19 groundbreaking for a solar farm in Bedford County, Tennessee. Read More

Vanderbilt University made significant strides during fiscal year 2021 in sustainable building and landscape projects, accessibility improvements and transportation and mobility initiatives, even through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

C.J. Sentell, PhD’15, a philosopher and food-focused social entrepreneur, was appointed CEO of the Nashville Food Project in July to continue to grow the organization which was founded on this simple but powerful mission: to feed neighbors in need. Read More

Vanderbilt University will host PARK(ing) Day, an annual global event competition in which urban areas, such as parking lots, are transformed into green spaces to promote sustainable design, on Friday, Sept. 17. Read More

General Motors' announcement that it would phase out combustion engines—the heart of its cars and trucks for more than 100 years—and move to an all-electric fleet by 2035 could have monumental implications for the global auto industry and broad efforts to combat climate change. The success of the initiative will depend on Vanderbilt alumni who hold key positions in the company. Read More

George Hornberger, an established leader in the fields of water resources and sustainability and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and the Environment, retired June 30. In preparation of his retirement, the Office of the Provost launched the Climate, Environment and Energy Futures Working Group to evaluate and plan for the future of energy, environment and climate research and advocacy at the university. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Green Invest Program partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Nashville Electric Service has been recognized with a 2021 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced July 8. Read More

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain and distinguished environmental economist Michael Greenstone discuss the series of innovative solutions putting Vanderbilt on track to become the first member of the Association of American Universities to achieve carbon neutrality this spring—decades ahead of the university's initial sustainability goal. Read More

Members of the campus community are invited to attend a virtual event to learn more about the future of climate change and how Vanderbilt will play a unique role in identifying and modeling solutions. The event on Tuesday, June 15, begins at 12:15 p.m. CT.   Read More

Vanderbilt University today announced a new collaboration with the nonprofit organization Climate Vault that allows the university to address the full extent of its carbon footprint now, achieving carbon neutrality decades ahead of its initial goal. The new initiative will effectively remove carbon pollution permits from regulated carbon markets while simultaneously stimulating research into emerging carbon removal technologies.    Read More

The Vanderbilt School of Nursing will host “Green Recovery, Climate Solutions and a Just Transition,” a public webinar and discussion, on Thursday, April 8, from 1 to 2 p.m. CT. The free webinar, part of the  Solve Climate by 2030 project, will feature youth involved in climate issues and leaders in conservation and sustainability, including Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain, who heads Vanderbilt’s FutureVU initiative. Read More