Last year was the first time UofL received the QS global ranking, and it was established relying solely on publicly available information.

“This is the first year that sustainability data was intentionally gathered and reported to QS with the encouragement and assistance of the Office of Institutional Research,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives.

Mog said this newest metric complements the steady progress UofL has attained every three-year measurement period under the framework developed by the AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher łÉÈËֱȄ).

President Gerry Bradley said a sustainability mindset is critical to a university’s policies, procedures and culture. “Anything else means that we are not actually creating the better world that we say we want for our students and our community.”

According to STARS, UofL has remained in the top 100 most sustainable schools on the planet, consistently maintaining the highest STARS rating of any school in Kentucky and ranking fourth among its official benchmark institutions. The next STARS ranking will be announced in April.

Recently, UofL was also granted two core recertifications. For a fourth time, UofL was named aÌę (a rating valid 2025-2029) by the League of American Bicyclists, and for the 16th consecutive year recognized as a Tree Campus Higher łÉÈËֱȄ institution by the Arbor Day Foundation.

Since UofL first signed onto the Climate Commitment and formed the university-wide Sustainability Council in 2008, it has launched a wide variety of campus sustainability initiatives making meaningful impacts on the lives and learning of our campus community. A few of these include: Ìę

• Degree programs in sustainability
• Slashing greenhouse emissions by half
• UofL Free Store and Cardinal Cupboard
• Campus gardens and community composting
• Farmers Markets and CSA programs
• EcoReps and Ecolympics
• Sustainability Roundtable
• Kroger Zero Hunger Zero Waste Scholars

Mog said rankings like STARS and QS help UofL recruit sustainability-minded students and employees and help to prioritize and better understand where to invest limited resources.

“If you think about it, UofL ‘s reason for being is to create a better future for our students, to conduct research that will make the world a better place, and to engage the community in mutually beneficial ways,” Mog said. “Sustainability is key to crafting that future every day.”

Interested in finding out more about sustainability and what you can do to help? Visit Ìę

The University of Louisville has embraced this concept and for the 12^th consecutive year, has been named among the program of the Arbor Day Foundation.

The re-certification comes just ahead of this year’s National Arbor Day, April 29.

Tree Campus Higher łÉÈËֱȄ was founded in 2008 to foster that tradition of excellence. The program provides aÌęÌęfor colleges and universities to grow their community forests and achieve national recognition.

In Kentucky, the state Arbor Day is observed on April 1, and UofL held an Arbor Day celebration on that date to honor the 75th anniversary of the by on the Belknap campus in memory of two Hite supporters — Mike Power (1943-2015) and his son David Power (1971-2021). Participants took home 40 native pawpaw saplings grown at UofL to plant in their neighborhoods. The Health Sciences Center Green Team also planted an American Holly between the Abell Administration Building and the School of Nursing.

UofL has earned re-certification by the program for efforts to protect, expand and diversify its community of trees, to educate about the vital role of trees, and to create a campus students, faculty, staff and alumni are proud of.

UofL is one of 392 colleges and universities nationwide and nine in Kentucky recognized by the Tree Campus Higher łÉÈËֱȄ program.

“A commitment to trees can significantly reduce the amount of energy the campus and community consume,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives at UofL. “Planting and maintaining trees absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, mitigating the effects of climate change. Green space provides important mental health benefits to students, faculty and staff, as well as encouraging physical activity.

“Involving our students in tree-related service-learning projects helps educate the next generation about the importance of caring for the environment. The recognition builds pride among UofL and the wider community.”

The five separate renewable power agreements were filed through the Kentucky Public Service Commission and were the result of each organization’s participation in LG&E and KU’s Green Tariff Option Three. Approved in 2019, the utilities’ Green Tariff rolls the LG&E and KU Green Energy and Business Solar programs under one tariff, providing a third option for customers – the renewable power agreement. This offering is a part of LG&E and KU’s continuing effort to enhance sustainable energy options for residential, commercial and industrial consumers within the commonwealth. It also fits into UofL’s sustainability initiatives.

Recently named the most sustainable university in Kentucky, UofL aims to honor the Carbon Commitment re-signed by President Neeli Bendapudi in August by undertaking various sustainable initiatives. In additional to various institutional efforts, also offers a variety of events and learning opportunities for faculty, staff and students interested in furthering sustainability at the university.

“At the University of Louisville, we take seriously our commitment to integrate sustainability into everything we do,” Bendapudi said. “Through this contract, more than 30% of the energy at our Belknap Campus and over 15% of UofL’s total electricity demand will be met by solar power. This alone will cut our greenhouse gas emissions by another 9% from 2020 levels, advancing our efforts to shrink the university’s carbon footprint to zero by 2050.”

The 125-megawatt solar facility, expected to be operational in 2025, will be one of the largest solar projects undertaken in Kentucky. As a state largely associated with nonrenewable energy sources, the RPAs and construction of the new solar facility demonstrates a substantial commitment to clean, sustainable energy by some of the commonwealth’s most prominent companies and educational institutions.

Based on the agreements, the utilities will supply UK with 44% of the facility’s energy output, the biggest portion of its generation. North American Stainless will be served with 36% output from the facility. The University of Louisville and The Chemours Company will each be supplied with 8% of the generation. Dow, which has already committed to receiving 25% of the energy output from a separate facility as part of a 2020 RPA, will receive 4% of the output from this newest facility.

“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.”

The score comes from a November 2020 comprehensive Zero Waste Atlas Assessment designed to help campuses assess and streamline campus systems for materials management.

“As we continue to progress as a great place to learn, to work and in which to invest, we strive to achieve the highest level of sustainability possible,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “The Post-Landfill Action Network designation, along with other recognitions UofL has received, affirms our success in meeting our goals as a green campus.”

ForÌęScope 1, surplus property and hard-to-recycle materials, UofL scored 63.4% (451.75 out of a total possible 712 points). ForÌęScope 2, food waste and single-use materials, UofL scored 53.9% (479.25 out of a total possible 888.5 points).

This assessment was conducted with the help of UofL’s Zero Waste interns and laid the groundwork for the development of UofL’s first Zero Waste Plan, which the UofL Sustainability Council will begin to work on in 2021.

The PLAN ranking follows two other designations earned by UofL for its sustainability efforts:

• At No. 97 with a score of 65.79 points, UofL ranks in the in the United States out of a pool of 312 colleges and universities surveyed. UofL also is the “Coolest in the Commonwealth” – four other Kentucky schools made the list below UofL: Berea College at 127 with 63.69 points, University of Kentucky at 234 with 49.17 points, Western Kentucky University at 251 with 48.12 points and Eastern Kentucky University at 283 with 40.06 points.
• UofL is included in the Princeton Review of Green Colleges’ 416 U.S. colleges and universities. The designation recognizes colleges and universities that exhibit a commitment to renewable energy, recycling and conservation programs, the availability of environmental studies in academic programs and career guidance for green jobs. More than 25 survey data points were analyzed by The Princeton Review editors to tallyÌę scores for the schools on a scale of 60 to 99. Colleges that earned a Green Rating of 80 or higher made it into the guide. In the 2021 Guide, UofL received a nearly perfect Green Rating of 97.

“UofL is committed toÌęintegrating sustainabilityÌęinto 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. “OurÌęvisionÌęis to create a university that is itself a living laboratory for sustainability and a campus community that leads by example and educates as much by what we do as by what we say.

“The recognition we have earned shows that we are achieving our goals.”

This annual challenge for higher education institutions engages students, faculty and staff in advancing zero waste ethics. This year, the competition’s duration was shortened from eight to five weeks in response to widespread closures due to COVID-19. From Feb. 2 through March 7, schools reported on their zero waste efforts in multiple categories.

In the Diversion category, UofL placed first in the state, first in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 10th in the nation for keeping more than 63% of its waste (including organics, plastic, paper, cardboard, metal and glass) out of the landfill.

Full results of the competition can be seen .

In the Food Organics category, UofL again placed first in the state and 33rd in the nation for composting. In the Per Capita Classic category, UofL placed second in the state and 83rd in the nation for recycling 6.691 pounds per person.

In the Waste Minimization category, UofL placed third in the state and 53rd in the nation for reducing total waste production to 26.46 pounds per person. And in the Total Recycling category, UofL placed second in the state and 38th in the nation by recycling 334,020 pounds of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal and glass and composting 86,315 pounds of food and kitchen waste from dining services for a total of 420,335 pounds.

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, is encouraged by these results and connected them back to .

“All these efforts to keep waste out of the landfill equate to reducing our carbon emissions by 614 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent,” he said. “According to the EPA, that’s as impactful as taking 133 cars off the road for a year, powering 104 homes with renewables for a year, switching 23,326 incandescent lamps to LEDs, or growing 10,153 tree seedlings for 10 years.”

As a member of the Climate Leadership Network for colleges and universities, UofL is committed to reducing campus net greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In 2010, UofL released its , a comprehensive roadmap for reducing university emissions to net zero. The plan is shepherded by UofL’s Sustainability Council, a group of more than 60 faculty, staff and students appointed by the provost that coordinate the plan’s implementation and conduct an annual reporting of UofL’s greenhouse gas emissions.Ìę

The designation means UofL has met or exceeded the foundation’s standards of care for the more than 2,000 trees that cover the 309-acre Belknap Campus.

“This honor represents a decade of dedication to the idea of trees as vital urban infrastructure – for shade and energy savings, food and wildlife habitat, storm water infiltration and soil stabilization, beauty and mental health, and clean air and carbon sequestration. We look forward to an even more leafy campus in the coming decade,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives.

The university was first recognized in 2010 for its comprehensive tree-care plan that guides tree selection, planting, maintenance and education. represent more than 130 species, including many native to the region. Among them are ash, dogwood, tulip poplar (the Kentucky state tree), oak, persimmon, magnolia and elm, including a rare American elm. Visitors to Belknap Campus can take that highlights some of these treasures.

The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $51 million in campus forest management last year. The nonprofit foundation is a conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees.

To read UofL’s 12-page tree care plan, .

Diane Tobin provided an overview of her role as ombudsman. She said the trends she is seeing that cause people to use her services include communication issues, budgetary issues, hierarchal/power struggles, poorly trained supervisors, understanding policies and procedures and lack of positive recognition. Throughout the past year, 122 people across campus have used the ombudsman’s services.

Tobin said her four tenets include neutrality, informal, independent of the university and confidential. More information about her services isÌę.

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, said UofL has made progress toward its sustainability goals and recently earned a STARS Gold rating. With a 66.24% score, UofL is the most sustainable school in Kentucky, ahead of No. 2 Berea College, with 65.95%. The next highest score was JCTC with 58.80%. In the ACC, UofL is fourth behind just Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia.

Mog said his department is now working to achieve the next level – platinum. To do so, he outlined the following strategies, among many others:

• Increase courses offered that are sustainability-focused or related.
• Increase the number of students who graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability-learning outcome.
• Administer a sustainability literacy assessment to the student body.
• Increase research-producing faculty and staff that are engaged in sustainability research.
• Administer a longitudinal assessment of sustainability culture.
• Get more staff to participate in annual sustainability professional development training.
• Engage the entire student body in community service.
• Re-join the Worker Rights Consortium or the Fair Labor Association.

Mog also noted that UofL has decreased its carbon footprint by 13%.

“We are decreasing emissions even as we are growing and that is great news. But we have a lot of work left to do,” he said.

Mog’sÌę.ÌęA reminder that Sustainability Week is Oct. 17-25 with a number of events scheduled. More information is .

Laura McDaniels, from HR, reminded senators that open enrollment begins Oct. 23 and runs through Nov. 6. HR will host benefits fairs on both campuses and more information will be available in UofL Today.

Also, HR has two new initiatives – HR talks and HR listens – to better communicate and get feedback from the campus community. More information, including a full schedule, .

Carcyle Barrett provided an update to the bylaw revision. It is proposed that Article VII, Section 4 be amended to read: “Standing committee chairs serve a term of one year. A staff senator may serve no more than two consecutive terms as chair in the same standing committee. After the second term, a staff senator must wait one year before serving as chair in the same standing committee.”

Also, it is proposed that Article VII, Section 4, be amended to read: “Standing committee member serve a term of two years. A staff senator may serve no more than two consecutive terms as a member in the same standing committee.”

Additional information and proposed language is .

The Staff Senate Chair, secretary-treasurer, vice-chair and committee reports are . Also of note, the IBM partnership committee has met twice and four sub-committees have emerged:

• Developing curriculum
• Faculty/staff development
• Civic and partner engagement
• Research and innovation and transformation space

The next Staff Senate meeting is Nov. 11 in Chao Auditorium.

The month of October features events that celebrate so much of what makes the University of Louisville a special place. Here’s a tour of events from Oct. 14 to Oct. 26 that applaud our , our diverse and our work in the area of with a little something for everyone.

Let’s begin with the J.B. Speed School of Engineering and its annual Oct. 14-16, featuring free events for students, faculty and staff. It all begins with “Donuts for Diversity” on the front lawn of the Speed Building (or in the lobby in the case of inclement weather) Oct. 14, followed later by “We Are Speed” photos (“Diversity in a Snap”) and a dine-and-dance event focusing on black and Latinx culture.

Indian food and henna tattoos are on tap for Oct. 15 in the Belknap Academic Building (noon to 2 p.m. and 4:30-6 p.m.). That evening, a friendly competition from 4-6 p.m. in Sackett Hall will highlight “Women in STEM Trivia Night.”

Learn more about the LGBTQ community while making tie dye shirts and enjoying rainbow popsicles at “Tie-Dyeversity” Oct. 16 in the Duthie Center, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

To wrap up the events Oct. 16, , alumnus and founder of the award-winning Interapt IT services firm, will be the keynote speaker at the Diversity Jubilee, a 5:30 p.m. buffet dinner in the Student Activities Center multipurpose room. Interapt is recognized nationwide and internationally for its unique paid IT workforce training program that focuses on serving underemployed and unemployed individuals in rural and urban areas, as well as veterans.

“This fun week of activities at the Speed School is designed to cheer on and empower our diverse population,” said Emmanuel Collins, dean of the Speed School. A full schedule of events can be found .Ìę

Next up will be a chance to learn more about UofL’s efforts toward responsible environmental, social and economic stewardship during Sustainability Week, which is Oct. 17-25.

Events begin Oct. 17 with the annual and the Josh Smith Sustainability Award Ceremony, 5-8 p.m., at the Red Barn.

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, will bring his perspective from a decade of working at UofL when he gives a talk, “Business-as-Usual Is Killing Us! The need for institutional weirding in the age of global climate weirding.” There are two opportunities to attend: Oct. 18, noon to 1 p.m. in Kornhauser Auditorium 103 on the Health Sciences Center campus, and Oct. 21, noon to 1 p.m., in Ekstrom Library W104 on Belknap Campus.

On Oct. 23, UofL’s 12^th Annual Campus Sustainability Day Fair will be held in the Humanities Quad, featuring booths and information about what UofL and community organizations are doing to advance sustainability.

For a full schedule of activities, visit the UofL Sustainability Council website .

Homecoming Week wraps up the month Oct. 21-26 with a full slate of activities.

At the on Oct. 24, the university is honoring Executive Director of Admissions Jenny Sawyer as the 2019 Alumna of the Year. Sawyer is the start of many of the relationships between students and the university. She maintains many of those relationships through students’ collegiate careers and often serves as a mentor after graduation.Ìę

Along with Sawyer, the Alumni Awards will recognize 13 Alumni Fellows from the university’s colleges and schools while celebrating UofL’s past, present and future.

Alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members are joining forces during the week for , a week of service in the city. The week features volunteer opportunities at sites around Louisville as well as donation drives.

Cardinal supporters can “Raise Some L” during the annual UofL Day of Giving on Oct. 22 and 23. Beginning at 6:02 p.m. on Oct. 22, for 1,798 minutes, Cardinals everywhere will come together to celebrate who we are and raise money to fund essential areas of need across campus. If you don’t know the significance of 1,798 minutes, check .

Other events for the week include the for the Classes of 1968 and 1969 and the Homecoming football game against Virginia.

For a full schedule of events, including student activities, visit the page.

Have fun, love the Earth, be safe and Go Cards!

The Sierra Club this week released its of North American colleges and universities, recognizing gains related to teaching, studying and acting for a more livable world. At No. 84 on the list, UofL is the highest-ranked Kentucky institution.

“We all knew UofL was a cool school is so many ways, but this year’s list from Sierra Club confirms that we are the coolest in the Commonwealth,”Ìęsaid Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives.Ìę

Rankings are based on the used by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher łÉÈËֱȄ (AASHE) to gauge progress in environmental, social and economic stewardship. This year, UofL also had the highest STARS rating of any college or university in Kentucky.

Ìę“This is the 10^th year we have cracked the top 100 on the Sierra Club’s list,” Mog said. “Our accomplishments in this area are a testament to the dedication of our administration, faculty, staff and students. They also remind us that we are part of a global movement to tackle the greatest crisis facing humanity by taking action on campus against global climate disruption right here in our classrooms, labs, offices and landscapes.”

The Sierra Club, the oldest grassroots environmental group in the United States, awards points to schools in areas such as energy, food, transportation, waste, academics and research. UofL earned high marks for campus and public engagement as well as curriculum.

Participation in the Sierra Club’s ranking is open to all four-year, degree-granting undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, along with two-year community colleges. The club for 2019.

Want to help continue the momentum? Go onlineÌęfor information on all the different ways students, faculty and staff can help UofL achieve its sustainability goals. UofL’s annual Sustainability Week is Oct. 17-25, to celebrate, raise awareness and promote engagement issues of environmental, social and economic justice.

News arrived this spring that UofL was ranked highest in Kentucky in a key sustainability measure, the international Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS).

“UofL’s unwavering commitment to the health of our planet is another reason to be proud of this institution, but this is not the time to remain idle,” said Neeli Bendapudi, UofL president. “We will and we must continue this hard work to ensure a bright future. I am so proud of our faculty, staff and students who are devoted to this issue for the university and in their daily lives.”

STARS, part of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher łÉÈËֱȄ (AASHE), relies on institutions to report the steps they are taking regarding environmental, social and economic stewardship. Schools’ ratings are valid for three years, and the total points they earn result in awards that range from platinum (highest) to bronze.

UofL scored for 2019, a 1% increase since UofL’s last STARS rating in 2016 and the highest rating for any college or university in Kentucky. The score also notched UofL’s second consecutive gold award. UofL ranks fourth among ACC schools with a STARS rating.

“This is the fourth STARS report we have submitted since 2011 and we continue to increase our score each time,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives. “Our new score puts UofL in the top 100 most sustainable schools on the planet. We can attribute this progress to the ongoing commitment of our university’s administration, faculty, staff and students to this increasingly important issue.”

Among the efforts that helped push UofL to the top were the new, the and our annual maple-tapping project on campus.

Recycling still a priority

With a gold STARS rating on our side, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that recycling remains a priority at UofL.

Our participation in the North American RecycleMania competition in February and March resulted in a No. 1 ranking in Kentucky in two categories: diversion and per capita. We recycled 57.6% of our trash overall for the eight-week period, or 16.8 pounds per person.

Additionally, the Sustainability Council recently issued UofL’s , showing UofL last year recycled or composted more than 6.5 million pounds of waste, or slightly more than half our total waste.

UofL’s , begun in 2010 and run by philosophy lecturer Brian Barnes,Ìęwill expand this fall with the addition of a student intern to manage worm composting operations.Ìę