The New School is committed to becoming a more sustainable university. In order to reduce the institution’s 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 waste sent to landfills.
- Improve Indoor Environmental Quality.
- Support initiatives to integrate sustainability and eco-literacy into curriculum, campus programming, and events.
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. Click here to read more about these public commitments.
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 across multiple categories. The New School received a STARS Silver rating in August 2011.
Engagement
The New School seeks active participation in developing and implementing sustainability strategies on campus. The Sustainability Advisory Committee is tasked with steering the university towards becoming more sustainable. Consisting of student, faculty and staff representatives in five of the eight schools and critical administrative departments such as the Registrar’s Office, Information Technology, Student Housing and Residence Life, Business Operations Services, and Human Resources, as well as members of student organizations, the committee focuses on cross-divisional collaboration through working groups in the areas of energy, education and research, purchasing, administration, and communications.
