2019 Campus Sustainability Progress Report

Highlights of Cornell’s sustainability progress from the 2018-2019 year include: 

• Gold Rating in the national Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System for the 8th year

• Newly redesigned Sustainable Campus website features 100s of pages of refreshed content in a fully WCAG 2.0 Accessibility compliant design

• Dining Services successfully piloted a reduction in single-use plastic for grab and go food items which will save 2,100lbs of plastic per location, per year

• New comprehensive waste signage was designed and is being implemented for a more cohesive & easy-to-use system

• 18MW community solar farm on leased Cornell land in Dryden will offset 10% of the Ithaca campus annual electric use and generate lease income when it begins commercial operation this fall

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FY18 Cornell University Sustainability Report

Highlights of Cornell’s sustainability progress this year: 

• Gold Rating in the national Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System for a 7th year

• Awarded the Leadership in Green Energy Education Award by the U.S. EPA and Center for Resource Solutions

• The Sustainable Landscapes Trail opened with 20 living laboratory locations featuring student-staff-faculty designed spaces which promote exploration, water health, ecological benefits, and campus beauty

• Opened the Peterson Green Parking Lot, with sustainable infrastructure practices which turned a standard parking lot into a natural landscape by capturing rainwater where it falls, filtering out pollutants and reducing large volumes of runoff

• Launched the New York Higher Ed Large Scale Renewable Energy Project, a consortium of public and private institutions in New York State who will work to advance large, collective renewable energy development

FY17 Cornell University Sustainability Report

Highlights of Cornell’s sustainability progress this year: 

• Gold Rating in the national Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System for a 6th consecutive year

• 3 new solar farms (35,000 panels) brought online for a total of 5 solar farms online powering the campus

• 50 Green Offices and 12 Green Labs are now certified across campus

• Published Options for a Carbon Neutral Campus by 2035, confirming Earth Source Heat as the most viable and academically aligned option to provide carbon neutral heat to our campus

• Launched a Sustainability Campus & Community Map, interactive & online

• Advanced the integration of a 4-part Cornell sustainability framework: People, Prosperity, Planet, and Purpose into decision-making and project evaluation (Purpose = supporting Cornell’s academic, research and land-grant mission).