As zero waste interns with the Sustainability Council, Jacob and Lily are helping formulate new ways the university can lessen its trash. UofL is already making strides in recycling and composting as ways to keep trash out of landfills, but the students are participating in a summer program that will help find other ways to cut down.

They have become fellows with the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN), a nonprofit organization that trains students in zero waste initiatives. It is providing training called “Atlas” to help analyze how much trash UofL produces and how much it may be able to avoid. The fellowship came with a free three-month membership in PLAN for anyone affiliated with UofL.

From now until the end of September, UofL students, faculty and staff looking to reduce waste for a single event, a club or even an entire department have access to the PLAN resources for advice.

“We are really excited to be working with the Post-Landfill Action Network to take our zero waste initiatives to the next level,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives. “UofL has made great progress in recent years ramping up our recycling and composting programs and this is the perfect opportunity to build on that progress and to look upstream to reduce waste production overall. It’s a win-win-win when we can save money on both purchasing and disposal while minimizing our environmental impact.”

In 2019, UofL diverted 43% of its waste from landfills, according to the Sustainability Council. The university’s Climate Action Plan has a goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

The temporary PLAN membership offers one-on-one advising, access to zero waste manuals and digital resources, and online workshops and trainings.

Jacob and Lily, both rising juniors, are interviewing UofL staff and administrators “to better understand how they view waste production on campus as a whole along with strictly within their respective departments,” Jacob said. “With the data we collect, Lily and I — along with the help of PLAN — will score the University of Louisville’s progress towards zero waste while also providing for suggestions on how the university can reduce its waste production, and PLAN will compile this into a detailed report.Using this information, I hope the university will see this as an opportunity to take dramatic steps toward zero waste by following the suggestions given by PLAN or by creating our own inventive solutions.”

As zero waste interns, Jacob and Lily will spend the next year advocating for sustainable waste management practices across UofL. As part of their duties, they are managers of the Free Store, where students and staff can donate household items and clothing and take things they need for free. After being moved out of Unitas Hall, the Free Store is currently looking for a new permanent home in the Student Activities Center.

Jacob is double-majoring in sustainability and geography, while Lily is a sustainability major.

PLAN has about 70 member schools in North America. Visit postlandfill.org and register with any louisville.edu address to get started.

The commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions started two years earlier, when then-President James Ramsey signed the . That action set in motion steps to ensure UofL would, like other institutions of higher education, steadily work to eliminate its contribution to global warming.

Today, the university is close to meeting its first benchmark: a 20-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The most recent annual report on GHG emissions shows that UofL’s net carbon emissions dropped more than 18 percent to 177,704 metric tons between 2008 and 2016. That is equivalent to taking more than 8,000 cars off the road or recycling almost 13,000 tons of waste.

“As part of the university’s , interim goals were set in place to keep us on track,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, who issued the report. “UofL is now very close to meeting its 2020 goal of reducing net carbon emissions by 20 percent. Our students are making investments in their futures, and our university’s commitment to fighting climate change is tangible proof of our investment in the common future of our shared planet.”

Reductions in electricity use and fuel and paper consumption were responsible for most of the progress. Composting and planting/maintaining trees helped offset a small percentage of carbon emissions.

The is an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the activities of more than 30,000 students, faculty and staff, as well as the operation of nearly 8.5 million square feet of buildings on all three campuses – Belknap, Health Sciences Center and Shelby.

UofL became part of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2008 and soon developed a comprehensive estimate of total greenhouse gas emissions resulting from operations. This 2008 baseline estimate is what the university uses to evaluate progress.

The university’s , adopted in 2010, is the roadmap the university uses to achieve net climate neutrality by 2050 with interim goals for emissions reductions along the way. The goal for 2020 is a 20-percent reduction (since 2008); the goal for 2030 is a 40-percent reduction.

Making more investments in renewable energy, alternative transportation and carbon sequestration, as well as increases in tree planting, are among some of the ways UofL will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Mog said.