What We Are Doing

The efforts of everyone at Stanford—students, faculty and staff—are crucial to creating a more sustainable campus. Riding a bike instead of driving, carpooling, recycling, turning off unnecessary lights, making double-sided copies, keeping the thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer&mdashthese are among the simple but meaningful acts that reduce our environmental footprint.

Students are leading the sustainability charge on many fronts and driving change across the university. As a student, you can play a significant role by cutting energy use, making environmentally sustainable choices and promoting a sustainable campus. Go to Students to find peer-tested tips and check out the many student groups dedicated to sustainability and environmental action.

Faculty and staff are in a prime position to create a culture of sustainability. You can take advantage of programs encouraging car sharing and public transit use, purchase energy-efficient office equipment and environmentally friendly supplies, and model conservation practices. Learn more at Faculty & Staff.

For more suggestions on what everyone can do—at home, at the store and on the road—see the School of Earth Sciences’ Sustainable Choices website. You’ll find tips and resources, plus a downloadable, wallet-size reference card.

“If we are to leave our children a better world, we must take steps now to create a sustainable environment. So it is critical that we model sustainable citizenship on our own campus.”
— John Etchemendy
Provost, Stanford University
The Energy Retrofit Program has delivered an estimated cumulative savings of over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity since it began in 1993—and prevented 72,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
Stanford is developing global solutions to climate change and putting them into practice on campus.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.
Systems retrofits to the most energy-intensive buildings on campus are expected to save $4.2 million a year and cut energy use by 28 percent.
About 40 percent of Stanford Dining produce is organic or regionally grown; some is even grown on campus.
About 60 percent of Stanford’s total contiguous land remains undeveloped.
Recycled paper is less expensive than virgin paper under the campus-wide office supply contract.
From 2002 to 2008, the percentage of Stanford employees driving alone to campus dropped from 72 to 51 percent.
Stanford diverted 64 percent of its solid waste from landfills in 2008—more than 14,500 tons.
Stanford completed 50 major water efficiency retrofit projects from 2001 through 2008, pushing down average domestic use from 2.7 million gallons per day (mgd) in 2000-01 to less than 2.3 mgd in 2007-08, despite campus growth.
The goal of Sustainable IT is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our IT infrastructure.
The goal of Sustainable IT is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our IT infrastructure.
Stanford invests IN sustainability through a broad range of initiatives in research, education, efficiency improvement, conservation systems, new technology, student-led projects and more.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.
Systems retrofits to the most energy-intensive buildings on campus are expected to save $4.2 million a year and cut energy use by 28 percent.
About 40 percent of Stanford Dining produce is organic or regionally grown; some is even grown on campus.
From 2002 to 2008, the percentage of Stanford employees driving alone to campus dropped from 72 to 51 percent.
Stanford diverted 64 percent of its solid waste from landfills in 2008—more than 14,500 tons.
Stanford diverted 64 percent of its solid waste from landfills in 2008—more than 14,500 tons.
The Energy Retrofit Program has delivered an estimated cumulative savings of over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity since it began in 1993—and prevented 72,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
Stanford completed 50 major water efficiency retrofit projects from 2001 through 2008, pushing down average domestic use from 2.7 million gallons per day (mgd) in 2000-01 to less than 2.3 mgd in 2007-08, despite campus growth.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.

LEADERSHIP EARNS RECOGNITION

Kudos from third-party evaluators and successful partnerships with innovative organizations underscore Stanford's leadership in the evolving field of sustainability.

  • The university was certified as a green business by Santa Clara County in 2004.
  • Stanford has earned a Clean Bay Award from the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant annually from 1997 to 2007.
  • In January 2007, Stanford became the first university to join the California Urban Water Conservation Council.
  • Stanford Dining won the Acterra 2007 Business Environmental Award for Sustainability.
  • Stanford was named one of the Best Workplaces for Commuters by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2002 to 2007.