Achievements
Academic Programs
- Sustainability Faculty Learning Community of 80+ Sustainability Faculty Fellows
- Sustainability Course Designation
- Environmental Studies Major and Minor
- Environmental Science Major and Minor
- Sustainability Track of the Management Major
Engagement Programs
- Sustainability Ambassadors student engagement and leadership program
- Sustainability student organizations
- Our Instagram account: @sustainablenewpaltz
Operational Achievements
- Partnering with Steven Winter Associates and NYSERDA to offer the Zero Net Carbon Training with Passive Principles to faculty and staff across the SUNY System, including the State University Construction Fund and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
- Divesting the SUNY New Paltz Foundation and Campus Auxiliary Services' endowments from direct investments in fossil fuels
- Cost avoiding approximately $250,000 per year via energy conservation measures
- Upgrading to LEDs for all exterior lighting and one-third of interior lighting
- Microgrid at Elting Gym with 100 KW of solar photovoltaics with battery storage
- Installing 35+ hydration stations and 25+ gooseneck bottle fillers on water fountains across campus
- 26 EV charging station parking spots
- Progress on
single-use plastics including discontinuing the sale of bottled water, eliminating plastic bags, and shifting to compostable straws - Adopting 100% reusables at Peregrine Dining Hall during COVID, including to-go containers, soup/salad bowls, flatware, and cups
- Revamping and standardizing our interior and exterior landfill, recycling, and composting bin infrastructure
- Our twelve green infrastructure sites showcasing eight different types of green infrastructure
- Our eight LEED buildings
- Our Bee Campus USA designation and our four pollinator-friendly meadows
- Our Tree Campus USA status
Educational & Operational Programs that engage students, faculty, staff & administration:
- Beyond Plastics Initiative
- Switching from mostly plastic bottles to mostly aluminum cans throughout vending and food service in the fall of 2020
- Offering a full suite of reusable serving ware and utensils at Peregrine Dining Hall during the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020-21 academic year
- Discontinuing the sale of bottled water in 2015 and ultimately returning the sale of canned water in the fall of 2020
- Eliminating plastic bags in 2015
- Biodiversity Initiative
- Earning Tree Campus USA status every year since 2017
- Becoming a Bee Campus USA in 2019
- Developing a Campus Pollinator Habitat Plan
- Establishing four no-mow areas on campus to create pollinator-friendly landscapes, including by the largest pond
