- Emory is ranked in the top ten in the Campus Engagement, Food and Dining and Purchasing categories in AASHE’s 2023 Sustainable Campus Index!
- For the third year in a row, Emory is ranked in the top ten (#7) of Princeton Review’s Top 50 Green Colleges rankings!
- Emory is ranked #4 in the Princeton Review’s 2023 Guide to Green Colleges based on our tri-annual submission to AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS).
- Emory launched the Emory Climate Action Task Force and six “Community Conversations: Emory Talks Climate Action” sessions to meet Second Nature Climate Commitment requirements signed by President Fenves in 2021.
- Emory received an A grading, the highest out of participating US schools, for the 2021-2022 Planetary Health Report Card based on ratings completed by Emory University School of Medicine students and faculty.
- Emory once again receives a “Gold” rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS Report) for leadership and innovation in sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
- In June, the student-led Plastic-Free Emory group led the call for Emory to adopt a “Break Free from Plastics Pledge,” which President Fenves signed
- In August, Emory chose a new waste management partner, Goodr, a local, Black-woman-owned, B Corp whose mission is to “feed more, waste less”
- In October, the Emory Climate Coalition successfully made the case to President Fenves for joining the Race to Zero commitment and Second Nature’s Climate Leadership Network
- In November, Emory started receiving the first produce from farmers who recently gained land through the Working Farms Fund program made possible through a partnership between Emory and The Conservation Fund
- Emory hosted leaders of the Muscogee Nation and adopted an official Land Acknowledgement as early steps toward honoring the Indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants and stewards of the land on which Emory now sits
- Emory received an A- grading for the 2021 Planetary Health Report Card based on ratings completed by Emory University School of Medicine students and faculty.
- Emory updates its Sustainability Vision and Strategic Plan to include new greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction goals that align with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2018 report, including a 50 percent reduction of GHG by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050
- Emory adopts a transformative solar power agreement to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reaffirming our dedication to generate at least 10 percent of energy on campus through clean energy alternatives
- Resilience & Sustainability Collaboratory, a think and do tank that leverages the collective expertise of corporate leaders, Emory faculty and staff, government, and community organizations for innovative solutions to sustainability and resilience challenges impacting the world, launched
- Emory is awarded an EPA Grant for sustainable materials management which will allow it to explore the possibility of using anaerobic digestion technology to divert its food waste from landfills and generate renewable biogas.
- For the first time, Emory University formally recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Emory is recognized as one of the Georgia Water Coalition’s “Clean 13” for the WaterHub, celebrating Emory’s water conservation efforts
- Emory signs an MOU with The Conservation Fund’s Working Farms Fund to break down barriers and support next-generation farmers across metro Atlanta
- The Georgia Recycling Coalition recognizes Emory’s recycling program with its Spirit of Green Award
- The U.S. Green Building Council awards Emory’s new Student Center with LEED Platinum Certification and Emory’s Hospital Tower LEED Silver Certification
- Emory gains Top Performer status for several years running in the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge
- Emory receives the Department of Energy’s Accelerating Smart Labs Award for Program Development and Implementation at the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) conference
- Emory’s Druid Hills campus is annexed into the City of Atlanta’s boundaries
- Emory University adopts the Emory Waste Management Policy to move the campus toward its goal to divert 95% of its waste from municipal landfills
- Emory’s WaterHub receives the 2018 IDEA Innovation Award from the International District Energy Association (IDEA)
- Emory earns 2018 Campus Sustainability Achievement Award for Emory’s WaterHub & Student Docents Program from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
- Emory receives recognition for sustainability in laboratory procurement from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL)
- Emory once again receives a “Gold” rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS Report) for leadership and innovation in sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
- Emory earns MVP Award in Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge for making buildings more energy efficient and better places to live and work while creating jobs and building a stronger economy
- Emory adopts its 2025 Sustainability Vision
- Emory is recognized as a top performer in the 2016 Sustainable Campus Index
- Emory’s WaterHub is awarded the U.S. Water Prize, the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge’s Game Changer Award and the ACEC Engineering Excellence Award
- Emory is ranked #9 in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Battle of the Buildings Competition
- Emory launches a $1.5 million Sustainability Revolving Fund, a self-replenishing program to fund capital-intensive energy and water efficiency projects across campus
- Emory celebrates 10 years of accomplishments under its 2015 Sustainability Vision
- Emory is ranked #8 on the “Greenest Universities” List on BestColleges.com
- The WaterHub at Emory University, an on-site water reclamation facility that is the first-of-its-kind in the nation, opens on Emory’s campus
- Development of Climate@Emory as an Academic Learning Community, now dedicated to climate-related research, teaching, and policy
- Emory once again receives a “Gold” rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System for leadership and innovation in sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
- Emory becomes the first university in the nation to adopt a comprehensive Pollinator Protection Policy that bans neonicotinoid application and pre-treated plants, enhances pollinator habitats, and educates about the importance of pollinators to healthy food systems and ecosystems
- The Oxford College Organic Farm breaks ground under the guidance of Daniel Parson. The Farm begins providing local, organically-grown product to the Emory and wider community
- Emory’s Green Office and Green Lab programs are formed to make office and lab space more sustainable
- The U.S. Green Building Council ranks Emory the best higher education institution on the “Best of Green Schools” list
- The National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) acknowledges Emory with the Sustainability Award in Procurement
- The Emory Conference Center Hotel is recognized by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) with the “Good Earthkeeping” award
- Emory receives the American Physical Plant Association (APPA) Sustainability Award in Facilities Management
- Emory joins the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge with the Emory University Hospital Midtown as the inaugural building
- Emory receives the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), “Gold” rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System for leadership and innovation
- AASHE awards Peggy Barlett, Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology and Sustainable Food Committee chair, the inaugural Faculty Sustainability Leadership award
- Emory’s Climate Action Plan, outlining action steps and goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, is implemented campus-wide. In addition, each of the University’s 9 academic units developed supplemental, individualized plans to define emissions reduction actions that account for their unit’s unique culture and assets
- The League of American Bicyclists designates Emory a Bike Friendly Campus
- The Sustainability Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies is first offered
- The Faculty Advisory Council is first formed in order to make recommendations about the implementation of sustainability issues in course curriculum across all schools and levels and also explore opportunities to expand sustainability research
- Princeton Review ranks Emory in the Top 11 Most Sustainable Campuses
- Sustainability for Health Sciences Task Force, co-founded by the Vice President for Health Affairs and the CEO of Woodruff Health Sciences Center, has its first meeting and provides opportunities for sustainability leaders within Emory healthcare to emerge, meet, and institutionalize their plans
- Emory implements the No Net Loss of Forest Canopy policy, which seeks to replace all lost tree canopy for no net loss
- Emory University is recognized as the “Conservationist of the Year” by the Georgia Conservancy
- The first Living Green themed dormitory opens at Few and Evans Hall
- The Sustainability Representatives program, composed of staff and faculty from major campus buildings, is launched
- The first of Emory’s weekly farmers’ markets is held
- Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives begins an incentives fund, which offers small grants to Emory community members to inspire innovations in sustainability
- The “Sustainability Vision for Emory” is adopted by the President’s Cabinet and guides the University’s efforts today
- The Office of Sustainability Initiatives is established and its first Director, Ciannat Howett, hired
- Emory adopts a utility reduction and energy conservation plan to achieve 25% per-square-foot energy use reduction by 2015 using a 2005 baseline
- Emory’s Cliff Shuttle system begins to run on a biodiesel blend that uses recycled cooking oil from campus dining halls
- Sustainability is established as a core commitment during university-wide strategic planning
- The Piedmont Project expands to include a one-day workshop for graduate students
- Emory adopts the Land Classification Plan, which set aside roughly half of Emory’s land as protected
- An energy conservation program is piloted in ten Emory College buildings; after communications efforts, electricity use went down 8 percent in the first year and 6.7 percent in the second year despite growth in faculty, staff and machines in some buildings
- After a decade of assessment and action, the Ad Hoc Committee crafts an Environmental Mission Statement for the University. The effort becomes a platform to bring environmental issues to the forefront across campus
- Emory’s Whitehead Medical Research Building is designated as the first LEED-certified building constructed in the Southeast
- Emory’s Board of Trustees formalizes a commitment to upholding LEED standards in all new building projects
- The Piedmont Project, a program designed to engage faculty in integrating sustainability across the curriculum and through research, launches University-wide
- Led by anthropology professor Peggy Bartlett, a group of faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni creates an Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Stewardship to foster a deeper engagement with sustainability issues
- The Board of Trustees adopts a No Net Loss of Forest Canopy Policy to ensure that trees removed during development are replaced in a way to achieve no net loss.
- Emory begins to recycle aluminum, colored paper, and glass with BOBO collectors that were first funded by the student government and remained in place for fifteen years
- Emory’s first Stormwater Management Plan is adopted and becomes one of the first official University documents addressing sustainable water issues
- Professors W.H. Murdy and M.E.B. Carter author an assessment that concludes Emory’s forests represent “a unique and valuable resource of scientific, educational, and aesthetic value.”
- Emory Surplus Property, which sells furniture and equipment from Emory departments at discounted rates, is started
- Professor Woolford Baker comes to Emory and becomes the first guardian of Emory’s forests
1836:
- Emory University is founded on the ancestral land of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
- Throughout the early 1800s, the Muscogee are faced with an increased effort by the United States government to take their land
- In 1814, the Muscogee fight a war to keep their home. They are met with violence, and 800 of their warriors are killed