Office of Sustainability

Guest Posts SDG12 Updates

“Handprint” Your Way to A Better World

By Mike Buhmann and Stephanie Richardson In 2021, Auburn University purchased over 800 chairs from Humanscale (the premier designer and manufacturer of ergonomic and sustainable furniture) for use in several departments around campus. This leaves the world better off by conserving and returning: 3,611 kg of CO2, which equates to…

ContributorMarch 31, 2023

Guest Posts SDG13 SDG16 SDG17 Updates

The Weather is More than Small Talk: What I Learned from Climate Scientists on a Trip to the Southeast

By Sabrina De Los Santos Rodríguez Dark clouds over the Week's Bay boat. Photo credits: Sabrina De Los Santos Rodríguez On Sunday, August 7th, 2022 I was on a white van with seven other people - all climate science graduate students and professors with diverse specialties. We were leading the…

ContributorMarch 27, 2023

Guest Posts SDG1 SDG10 SDG13 SDG16 SDG17 SDG5 SDG6 Updates

Climate Change: An Issue of Climate Justice

by Ghanashyam Khanal and Nabin Bhandari While about two frenetic weeks of discussions and negotiations on climate change, damage and loss, and climate finance were going on at COP27 in Egypt, a documentary that depicted the impact of climate change on women and children in the Himalayan regions of Nepal…

ContributorMarch 13, 2023

Guest Posts SDG13 SDG14 SDG15 Updates

The Big and Small ways to Celebrate Earth Day

by Becki Retzlaff Every Earth Day I am reminded of two things. The first is when I was a teenager, and my friends and I volunteered to plant trees at a park near my home in Michigan. We labored all day to carefully plant little pine tree seedlings in long…

ContributorMarch 13, 2023

Events SDG15 Updates

Planting Tomorrow’s Habitat

by Kaylee Dimock, Office of Sustainability On Thursday, January 26th, the Office of Sustainability and Kreher Preserve & Nature Center hosted Plant Ahead: A Tree Planting Event with volunteers from the College of Forestry Wildlife and Environment as well as the community. In total, 63 workers and volunteers came together…

ContributorJanuary 31, 2023

Director's Corner SDG13 SDG4 Updates

Director’s Corner: Warriors for the Human Spirit

“A Warrior for the Human Spirit is a decent human being who aspires to be of service in an indecent, inhumane time.” Margaret Wheatley, Who Do We Choose to Be? Effective individuals, leaders, teams, organizations, and societies practice a common discipline: the willingness and courage to, in the words of…

Mike KenslerJanuary 31, 2023

SDG10 SDG16 SDG4 SDG5 Sustainability in Action Updates

Campus Changemaker: Kimberly Mulligan-Guy

by Camille Colter, Office of Sustainability Photo courtesy of Kimberly Mulligan-Guy Let’s talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Wait, scratch that. Inclusion, equity, THEN diversity. Formally, Dr. Kimberly Mulligan-Guy is the Assistant Dean for Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity (IED) in the College of Science and Mathematics (COSAM). Informally, she is…

ContributorJanuary 31, 2023

Guest Posts SDG12 SDG13 Updates

The Song of the Taiwanese Trash Truck

by Jesse Teel Taiwan had the unfortunate nickname “Garbage Island.” Trash polluted the environment through littering and burning. Mountains of waste rotted in the streets. Taiwan initiated a waste management overhaul and the last two decades have seen a transformation to a clean, largely litter-free country. The waste and recycling…

ContributorJanuary 27, 2023

SDG1 SDG10 SDG4 SDG5 SDG8 STARS Updates

DIVERSITY & AFFORDABILITY Assessment: AUBURN UNIVERSITY’S STARS REPORT

by Randy Martin, Office of Sustainability As I begin, I feel as though most are familiar with the moral cases for diversity, so I want to draw attention to this tweet from Adam Grant, a leader in Organizational Psychology and award-winning author. As he states, a recent paper titled Gender-diverse…

ContributorJanuary 23, 2023

Guest Posts SDG7 Updates

It’s Electric! Read How to Make an Impact as an Energy Alabama Student Member

by Laurel Holmes Interested in sustainable energy? If so, connect with students like you across the state! Energy Alabama is offering free memberships to college students across the state. Joining as a student member offers the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers, industry experts, and professionals advocating for green energy…

ContributorJanuary 5, 2023