The Sustainability Office is the central hub for coordinating and advising on institution-wide sustainability efforts and initiatives. We collaborate with units, schools, and offices across all of the University’s campuses, as well as with community partners and organizations. Housed in University Facilities and Services, the office plans, implements, and communicates sustainability initiatives to reduce resource consumption and the University’s overall carbon footprint.
The University of Rochester defines “sustainability” in accordance with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE): “AASHE defines sustainability in a pluralistic and inclusive way, encompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods, and a better world for all generations. Thus, it includes performance indicators related to, for example, ecological integrity, social and economic justice, and democratic governance.”
AASHE adds: “Before exploring popular definitions and models of sustainability, it is important to note that Indigenous peoples practiced sustainability long before the term existed. Indigenous and local knowledge—the understandings, skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings—are often essential in addressing sustainability challenges.”