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Sustainability: The Path to the Future
The Adirondack Semester
This experiential, residential learning program takes place in the 6-millionacre Adirondack Park and is offered through the Institute for a Sustainable Environment.
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The program provides students with opportunities to learn firsthand about environmental science, policy and economics and the complex relationship between sustainability and development, the natural environment and human impact.
“At Clarkson, sustainability is built into everything we do,” says Susan Powers ’83, MS’85, Jean ’79 and Robert ’79 Spence Professorship in Sustainable Environmental Systems and director of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment.
A Cool School
— The Sierra Club 2017
The Institute for a Sustainable Environment (ISE) is home to Clarkson’s environmental activities associated with research, interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate degree programs and outreach programs.
The ISE was established to support Clarkson’s long-standing expertise in this field and to increase collaboration among faculty. The Institute facilitates high-impact learning experiences, fosters transformative scholarship and engages the campus and wider community in order to understand and address environmental and sustainability challenges.
The Race to Zero Climate Action Plan
In 2014, Clarkson President Tony Collins signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. He extended that commitment as one of the first university presidents to sign the updated Climate Leadership Commitment in 2015.
As part of that commitment, Clarkson faculty, led by ISE Director Susan Powers, developed a climate action plan for mitigating greenhouse gases and are creating a climate resilience plan in response to climate change.
Clarkson’s Race to Zero Climate Action Plan strives for climate neutrality by 2025.
Sustainability Efforts Recognized
The University received a gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (AASHE STARS) program for its socially responsible investment in sustainability education and research. In education and research, Clarkson is now among the top 15 U.S. academic institutions scored by STARS.
The University was also named a leader in the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Campus Challenge.
Read Clarkson’s Climate Action Plan http://www.clarkson.edu/climate-action-plan
46%
of Clarkson’s electricity comes from renewable (solar and hydropower) energies. Among the MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE colleges in the U.S. — The Princeton Review Guide to 375 Green Colleges, 2017
This is what a sustainable campus looks like:
• Sustainability concepts included in 250+ courses. • 200 acres of forests and wetlands preserved as a FOREVER WILD section of campus. • Green building policies for all current and future construction. • An anaerobic digester system that manages food waste on-site, reducing the volume of solid waste sent to landfills. • Pesticide use restricted to areas comprising less than 10% of managed grounds. • A 20% savings of electricity and hot water usage realized through the University’s innovative Smart Housing project. • A Sustainability Fund supporting student- and faculty-driven research that benefits the campus. • A Sustainable Office program recognizing and rewarding sustainability efforts across campus.
