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Sustainability at DU

What DU's Doing

Overview

We believe that one mark of a leading university is its commitment to sustainability and the practice of building sustainability into many aspects of university life. Sustainability is an effective approach to meeting the University's ethical obligations to the global environment and to the rest of humankind. As significantly, practicing sustainability enriches our capacity to undertake our educational mission, teaching our students the skills and values they will need to thrive and to create a better world in the future.

Sustainability yields many benefits to institutions that successfully cultivate it.  The institution gains an edge in educational and research opportunities and in preparing students for living and working in a diverse, global society in which sustainability will be an issue in many forms.

Use the links on the left to find out what DU's sustainability efforts are in energy, campus life, green building, purchasing, recycling, and transportation.  There is also a link to our April 2009 Sustainability Plan (PDF).

Notably, DU has decided to participate in the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report, which is organized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE). Click here to view information about this process.

AASHE is a professional, membership-based association of colleges and universities. Its mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation.

STARS is a voluntary, self-reporting framework for recognizing and gauging relative progress toward sustainability for colleges and universities. After a year-long study process, DU will submit responses to all of the STARS criteria in summer 2011. The Sustainability Council is serving as a coordinating body for this response effort.

Click here to view Chancellor Robert Coombe's message about sustainability on campus.