Year In Review
Year In Review
NC State’s sustainability impact in fiscal year 2018
Twenty years ago, NC State began laying the foundation for what has become a nationally-recognized campus sustainability program.
Building on that success, the university embarked on its second Sustainability Strategic Plan in July 2017. As you’ll see in this 2018 Sustainability Report, implementation of the new plan is well underway. This report highlights sustainability impact in research, teaching, outreach, campus operations and more.
Through these sustainability programs, projects and practices, NC State is helping create a world that is more environmentally sound, economically viable and socially just.
This Year’s Highlights
New sustainability-related degree and certificate programs: B.S. in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, Certificate in Public Interest Design, Certificate in Military Land Sustainability.
New Environmental First Year Program welcomed its first cohort of 80 undergraduates. The program allows students to explore different environmental programs and career paths.
NC State launched the Energy Collaborative to help the campus community collaborate, develop and share energy research and teaching.
Poole College of Management’s B Corp Clinic has involved 180+ students on 29 projects to help local businesses pursue sustainability certification.
The following achieved Wolfpack Certified Sustainable recognition: 51 campus events, 6 campus workplaces and 4 student organizations.
Faculty research revealed 9.6 percent of NC State students have been homeless in the pas year and 14 percent of NC State students have faced low or very low food security in the past month. A new initiative called Pack Essentials launched to support students facing these challenges.
68% of incoming NC State students in 2017 indicated the university’s commitment to the environment and sustainability influenced their decision to attend NC State.
NC State’s Zero Waste Wolfpack program earned a City of Raleigh Environmental Award and a Carolina Recycling Association Annual Award in 2018.
Campus energy use intensity has decreased 31% compared to the 2002-2003 baseline.
Campus potable water use has decreased 53% compared to the 2001-2002 baseline.
50.9% of campus waste was diverted from the landfill through reuse, recycling or composting.
22.5% of NC State Dining’s food purchases were from campus, local or regional sources.
The Wolfline campus bus system had an annual ridership of 3.5 million — a new record.
NC State’s sustainability e-newsletter is read by more than 2,000 people weekly.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS
Want to Learn More About Sustainability? Try This New Campus Program
Sustainability Partners is a new program for members of the NC State community to learn about sustainability.
Price Music Center Upgraded To 100% LED Lighting
NC State's Price Music Center, home to the Department of Music, is the first campus building to feature all LED lighting.
Campus Bee Hotels Are Open For Business
NC State’s new bee hotels are providing vital habitat for North Carolina’s native bees thanks to Jonathan and Sara June Giacomini, who designed and built them for the campus community.
Grounds Services Goes Green At Gregg
NC State Grounds Services pilots a new sustainable landscape management effort at the university’s Gregg Museum of Art & Design.
Window Film Improves Energy Efficiency Of 1911 Building
NC State Energy Management recently applied a specialized film to windows in the 1911 Building in order to save energy.
Brickyard Gets New Gardens To Manage Rainfall
NC State’s Facilities Division is installing a new series of sustainable landscapes to mitigate flooding on and near the Brickyard.
Student Leads Effort to Boost Recycling At D.H. Hill Library
Student Kyra Levau spends enough time at D.H. Hill Library to know where the trash cans are ‒ and are not. As she studied on...
Sustainability Fund Announces Grant Winners, New Grant Opportunity
Ten projects have received NC State Sustainability Fund grants to improve campus sustainability in the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
Green Brick Awards Honor NC State’s Most Sustainable
The NC State Sustainability Council announced the 2018 recipients of the university’s Green Brick Awards at an April 26 ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions to sustainability.
Textiles Students Design Sustainable Solutions
In this senior design course, students have two semesters to create a solution to a textiles industry problem. This year, several projects focus on sustainability.
Gregg Museum Addition Gets Gold Rating For Sustainability
The new gallery wing of NC State’s Gregg Museum of Art & Design has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Gold level.
These Floating Islands May Improve Water Quality
NC State students are using campus stormwater ponds to test whether floating islands of plants can improve water quality.
Winter Break Savings Top $200,000
Over winter break hundreds of NC State campus buildings collectively avoided more than $200,000 in energy costs through the university’s Holiday Energy Saving Initiative.
Researchers Explore The Link Between Environment, Genes And Health
NC State’s Center for Human Health and the Environment hosted its second annual symposium focused on epigenetics, environment and human health.
Safety Is First But Savings Matter, Too
NC State lab safety manager Mahdi Fahim goes the extra mile to ensure campus labs are safe and not wasting energy.
During Make-a-thon, Students Create Sustainability Solutions
In this unique NC State innovation competition, students design and prototype solutions to sustainability challenges.
Student Launches Composting Program In Campus Apartments
Residents of Wolf Village Apartments have access to kitchen composting courtesy of a compost collection program started by a student.
NC State Students Launch Company To Modernize Dumpsters
Through a startup called Trashr, these NC State students want to create a smarter dumpster that improves the efficiency of waste collection.
New Scoreboards Powered By The Sun
With a little help from the sun, gone are the days of scoreboard flip charts and stopwatches at some of NC State’s most popular recreational...
NC State Dining Launches New Compostable Coca-Cola Cups
NC State Dining now offers compostable cups at its Talley Student Union and On the Oval locations.
Social Innovation Students Tackle Issues Related to Food and Water
In early fall, 30 students were selected to join the first cohort of the Social Innovation Fellows. The program, supported through the Institute for Nonprofits, pairs student teams with nonprofits and projects tackling issues related to food and water insecurity. […]
Big Win For Waste Diversion
During the 2017 football season, Carter-Finley Stadium diverted 42 percent of gameday waste from landfill through recycling and composting efforts.
Students ‘LEED’ McKimmon Center To Increased Sustainability
In a unique architecture course, students helped improve environmental sustainability at the McKimmon Conference and Training Center.
Double The Impact
Sisters Olivia and Vanessa Merritt strive to make campus more bird-friendly.
2017 Shack-A-Thon | Most Sustainable Shack Award
Shack-a-thon is an annual student-led fundraising event for the Wake County chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Student groups sign up, build a temporary “shack” for...
Learning By Doing
Through service learning, EcoVillage students make NC State's campus more eco-friendly.
Students Start Business To Tackle Textile Waste
NC State students and Park Scholars Emily Neville and Carly Kvietok launched Reborn Clothing Co. to revive clothes you no longer wear into new, useful products.
Virtual Sustainability Fair
Here's your opportunity to connect virtually with the student organizations that participated in NC State's Sustainability Fair. Use the information here to connect with a sustainability-related student organization or service opportunity.
(Re)Styled For Success
Through the Wolfpack Styled clothing reuse program, NC State’s Career Development Center connects students with free professional clothes while also reducing textile waste.
Fraternity, Sorority Life Names Most Sustainable Chapter
Delta Gamma Sorority received the Most Sustainable Chapter award at NC State's Fraternity and Sorority Life annual awards ceremony.
Saving Princeville
The nation’s oldest town chartered by African-Americans rallies to recover from last year’s devastating storm. NC State faculty and students join a team of experts helping them chart a sustainable course for the future.
To Find Talley’s Garden, Look Up
The Park Scholars, NC State Dining and the Department of Horticultural Science have taken sustainability to the roof.
Architecture Students Design, Build
A student-built facility will help advance productivity of the campus Agroecology Education Farm, which grows sustainable farm-to-fork produce for university dining halls.