Campus Sustainability News
News on campus sustainability initiatives, emerging programs, rankings, awards, student initiatives, green teams, and more from across the Cornell University campus.
![Woman holding pipette in lab](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/laboratory.jpg?h=847edef2&itok=I4P7PZU4)
Checklist for quickly ramping down research activities during COVID-19 reduced research schedule.
![Custodian Patty Armstrong runs a rotary scrubber](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2020-03/lindsay_francecornell_university_custodian_patty_armstrong_runs_a_rotary_scrubber_as_she_trains_by_using_a_new_commercial_floor_stripper_-_which_is_free_of_butyls_and_ammonia_-_at_a_bailey_hall_dressing_room.jpg?h=c74750f6&itok=PHXrSt1k)
“We no longer have to strip and wax floors at 3 a.m. to keep people away from odor. We can do our work at any time of day,” said Chris Mott, a purchasing agent in Facilities and Campus Services.
![Mui Ho Fine Arts Library exterior](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2020-02/buildings_-_mui_ho_fine_arts_library_rand_hall_leed_gold_-_jason_koski_cornell_university.jpg?h=0808bdec&itok=_dtJrklR)
Cornell’s Mui Ho Fine Arts Library in Rand Hall earned the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification in late January.
![Solar panel with sun beating down on it.](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2020-02/north_campusi.jpg?h=5463d0de&itok=huz7KtHn)
Rooftop solar arrays on Cornell’s North Campus Residential Expansion will generate around 35% of the buildings’ power.
![Cascadilla Solar Farm](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2020-02/cascadilla.jpg?h=a1e1a043&itok=SXd-Xhkc)
The university’s sixth large-scale solar project is online.
![Snowy footprints leading to Baker Tower](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2019-12/snow.jpg?h=a1e1a043&itok=HsOJoNfR)
As the university prepares to shutdown for winter break, Vice President of Facilities & Campus Services Rick Burgess reminds faculty, students and staff of ways they can help conserve energy over break.
![Staff installing LED street light](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2019-11/markus_o_reynolds_eci_lighting.jpg?h=eeee59a2&itok=KaynA_wT)
The Cornell Energy Conservation Initiative completed a multi-phase comprehensive lighting upgrade earlier this year which replaced lighting in indoor and outdoor spaces with energy-efficient LED bulbs and has saved the campus over 18,000 tons of carbon and $2.9 million to date.
![arc Daly, Nick Van Eck, and Bob Wilson](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/inline-images/Sustainability%20Champions%20-%20Staff%20Square%20Peggy%20Stevens.png?h=57024e64&itok=np71c5iY)
"...the team came up with a vision for chambers that would have a streamlined mechanical design and a much smaller carbon footprint..."
![Many Cornell offices and units participate in activities to help reduce energy, like the Daylight Hour event. Daylight hour poster](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2019-06/daylight_hour_poster.png?h=58e15aaf&itok=lz03VkLe)
On Friday, June 21st, Cornell participated in Daylight Hour 2019. 14 departments participated by turning off artificial lights and relying on sunlight, in an effort to reduce energy consumption in office spaces on campus and worldwide.
![LEED gold seal](/sites/default/files/styles/circle_250x250_/public/2019-07/leed_gold.png?h=f0d95172&itok=cKmZxDPh)
“It’s fair to say that this atrium is now the heart of our college – our ‘living room,’ so to speak – where everybody goes,” said Wayne A. Davenport, director of facilities at the College of Veterinary Medicine. “The expansion has transformed us. Striving for LEED certification helped to create a strong sense of community in the center of our college.”