The New School is committed to becoming a more sustainable university. In order to reduce its environmental footprint and carbon emissions, the university has established the following goals:
- Reduce the use of energy in buildings.
- Promote the use of public transportation and bicycling.
- Decrease consumption of potable water.
- Reduce the waste we send to landfills.
- Improve Indoor Environmental Quality.
The New School has put the Office for Sustainability and Energy Management, within the Facilities Management Department, in charge of managing these goals. In addition, the university has signed on to two major initiatives that demonstrate its dedication to fulfilling these sustainability goals: the Mayor's Challenge to Universities and the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment(ACUPCC).
Developed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as part of PlaNYC, the University Challenge encourages local universities to reduce their carbon emissions 30 percent by 2017. One of the first institutions to sign up for the challenge, The New School had the lowest level of carbon emissions per square foot of existing buildings of any of the participating institutions at the start of the initiative.
Former New School president Bob Kerrey signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC)—an agreement to develop a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible and implement sustainable practices into educational programs and facilities.
In August 2010, The New School and approximately 200 other schools signed on as a Charter Participant to the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS®), an initiative developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Created by universities for universities, STARS helps higher education institutions assess their efforts in sustainability in multiple categories. The New School received a STARS Silver rating in August 2011.
