With this ranking, UofL celebrates another milestone in its Sustainability Initiatives program and reaffirms its commitment to going carbon neutral.

Sierra Magazine’s ranking comes on the heels of an documenting that the university has exceeded its 2020 goal and reduced carbon emissions by over 35%. In August, UofL President Neeli Bendapudi re-signed UofL’s Carbon Commitment, pledging that the university is working to become 100% carbon neutral by 2050.

“As we all are reminded how to be more energy efficient on Oct. 6 [Energy Efficiency Day], we also celebrate our continued success in being the most sustainable school in the commonwealth,” Bendapudi said. “We also see how much more work there is to do in order to reduce our university’s carbon footprint to zero by the year 2050. It’s a large task, but we know we have to do it and we will.”

“UofL is committed to integrating sustainability into everything we do, from how we manage our facilities, finances and people to what we teach in the classroom and what we research in the lab,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives. “At UofL, everyone has a role to play in making our university more sustainable and tackling the existential threat posed by the global climate crisis.”

Mog said students, faculty, staff and other friends of UofL can play many roles in supporting our Sustainability Initiatives.

“There are a myriad of ways people can help make UofL more sustainable, from individual actions to group activities, from pledging to fulfill your own personal sustainability commitment to donating to offset carbon emissions costs and funding our work at UofL,” Mog said.

Other Kentucky schools making Sierra Magazine’s list were the University of Kentucky at 252^nd; Western Kentucky University at 263^rd; and Eastern Kentucky University at 298^th.

“I look forward to Sustainability Week every year because it’s such a great opportunity to celebrate and share all of the great, but little-known things that are happening to make UofL an even better steward of our environmental, social and economic resources,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives.

Mog, who has been in his post since 2009, earlier this year was awarded the city’s , just one of several sustainability highlights from 2017 at UofL.

Others included being named a Tree Campus USA for the seventh year by the Arbor Day Foundation and garnering the highest ranking of any Kentucky college in the Sierra Club’s “Cool School” list at No. 51. Additionally, UofL issued a report, the , that showed the university is close to meeting its first benchmark in its goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

Sustainabilty Week begins Oct. 23 with “Mindful, Meatless Monday” events at various locales to show the links between sustainability and mindfulness practices. Try out Restorative Yoga (1 p.m.) or Yoga Flow (4 p.m.) at the Student Recreation Center. Drop by the Humanities Quad to catch a vegetarian cooking demonstration or learn about “mindful snacking” (2:30-4 p.m.).

Don’t forget that the UofL Free Store is open on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The store in the basement of Unitas Hall gives away donated items that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, get to The Ville Grill from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to try some of the featured locally-sourced or Kentucky Proud food items.

The  is Wednesday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Humanities Quad, featuring booths and information about what UofL and community organizations are doing to advance sustainability.

Thursday, Oct. 26, is the last chance to visit the Market this season and pick up local produce and food items, baked goods, honey, jams and jellies (11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). Swing by on your bike and get a few tips at a free bike maintenance station hosted by .

On Friday, Oct. 27, come talk about “Global Politics of Climate Change” at the UofL Sustainability Roundtable with speaker , UofL professor of political science. The roundtable is from 11 a.m. to noon in Urban Studies Room 123 (426 W. Bloom St.) In addition, students are encouraged to take advantage of discounted registration fees for the from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (1701 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd).

Tree planting in Jeffersonville, Indiana, takes place Sat., Oct. 28 (9 a.m., 240 Wall St.) and volunteers are needed. Volunteers are also needed Sun., Oct. 29 at UofL’s compost site in the 200 block of East Bloom Street (one block north of Cardinal Boulevard between Brook and Floyd streets).

More Sustainability Week details .

“I have been impressed with how far Louisville as a city has come in terms of sustainability and the University of Louisville has led the way,” said Ruhe, a longtime Jefferson County Public School special education teacher who is one of the first students enrolled in UofL’s new interdisciplinary master’s degree program with a sustainability concentration. “If it hadn’t been for the students and faculty pushing for change, none of this progress – and the recognition that has followed – would have been possible. To rank in the Top 50 is quite an accomplishment and reflects the commitment of all at UofL to become a leader in sustainability education for the 21st century.”

This marks the eighth consecutive year UofL has landed in the top 100.

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, said the scoring was based on UofL’s latest rating in the national . Earlier this year, UofL became the first college in Kentucky to achieve a gold STARS rating. STARS is the framework developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher łÉČËÖ±˛Ą to track progress in the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. 

This year, UofL scored more than 622 points out of a total of 1,000 in the annual ranking published by The Sierra Club, the oldest grassroots environmental group in the United States. The list is compiled based on data about a school’s sustainability initiatives in co-curricular education, energy, investments, food, innovation, academics, planning, purchasing, transportation, waste and water.

“What’s so exciting about this is not just that we’re doing one thing right, but that we are addressing sustainability across the board,” Mog said.