UGA 2014 Campus Sustainability Report UGA 2014 Campus Sustainability Report | Page 3

“Our colors are red and black, but we’re also one of the nation’s
“greenest” universities. UGA is one of just 64 institutions nationwide
that have earned a gold rating through the Sustainability Tracking,
Assessment and Rating System (STARS), which awards points in
categories such as academics, engagement, operations, planning and
administration.
Our mission statement makes it clear that a healthy environment is
vital in our interdependent, global society. Our faculty, staff and
students are committed to sustainability and the Office of Sustainability,
established in 2010 based on a student-led effort and a
recommendation from a campus-wide working group, has served
as a catalyst for enhancing sustainability instruction, service and
research at UGA.
The University’s 2020 Strategic Plan calls for increasing the number
of courses with a sustainability component by 10 percent, and we’re
already halfway to that goal. Last year, nearly 500 courses—that’s
nearly 20 percent of all courses taught at UGA—included a
sustainability component.
UGA has more than 600 sustainability researchers on its campuses,
including those in the interdisciplinary Georgia Initiative for Climate
and Society, Bioenergy Systems Research Institute and the Odum
School of Ecology’s River Basin Center. Many of our study abroad
opportunities, service-learning courses and outreach programs
integrate sustainability, as well.
Our entire campus is a living laboratory where sustainability is
demonstrated and refined. UGA is using 15 percent less energy per
square foot and 25 percent less water than in 2007, for example.
Food Services now composts all of the organic material from its waste
stream at the University’s Bioconversion Center, and the compost
eventually makes its way back to gardens and green spaces on
campus. And Parking Services has dedicated Athens’ first public
charging station for electric vehicles in the North Campus Parking Deck.
As the state’s flagship university, we have a special responsibility to
demonstrate sustainability in all that we do. Thanks to the dedication
of our faculty, staff and students, UGA is a national leader in
sustainability.”
Pamela Whitten
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost