2023 Sustainability Report

Sustainable Student Leaders: The Sustainability Stewards leadership program celebrated 10 years of impactful action. Established in spring 2013 and coordinated by the University Sustainability Office, more than 130 students have helped cultivate a culture of sustainability at NC State as a Steward. This year, 33 Stewards hosted 13 events including the annual Energy and Water Competition and Indigenous Peoples Environmentalism Panel. With support from the NC State Sustainability Fund, the Stewards also installed three new outdoor container gardens as part of their Campus Green Havens initiative.

Campus As A Classroom: Coordinated by the University Sustainability Office, the Campus As A Classroom professional development internship program placed 19 students across campus to be immersed in real-world projects that directly advance sustainability at NC State.

“LEEDing” the Way: Students in the LEED Lab course about sustainability went off-campus for the first time to partner with Durham Public Schools. The students developed recommendations for how a school facility could achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Engineering Sustainability: A focus on sustainability helped Industrial Systems Engineering students win first place in both the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Senior Design Project competitions in which they collaborated with project sponsors NC State Transportation, Waste Reduction and Recycling, and University Sustainability Office.

Winning Waste Solutions: Over 100 students spent January 27-29, 2023 competing to ideate, prototype and present sustainability solutions to global challenges as part of NC State Make-A-Thon. The top five winning teams focused on waste management, with the grand prize team developing a magnetic biochar hydrogel made from agricultural waste to absorb contaminants from wastewater.

By Students, For Students

• College of Design Landscape Architecture Design + Build Studio students partnered with University Housing and the NC State Facilities Division to transform an outdoor space by Wood Residence Hall into a comfortable, inviting and sustainable environment to help connect students with friends and nature.
• A Horticulture Science graduate student designed a new campus garden outside of D.S. Weaver Laboratories to provide students with fresh produce and the opportunity to engage in sustainable urban horticulture practices.
• NC State Jenkins MBA students and the Business Sustainability Collaborative hosted over 150 students, community members and business leaders at the 2023 MBA FoodCon to increase understanding of the sustainable food industry.
• Seven student-led projects received grants from the NC State Sustainability Fund for fiscal year 2024. These include several campus-wide events promoting clean energy and sustainability resources, symposiums focused on solutions to climate challenges and environmental justice, installation of window film to prevent bird collisions, an initiative to raise awareness and use of upcycled materials, and equipment to assist students participating in prescribed burns of NC State’s experimental forests.

5 Electrical Engineering students completed their senior capstone project on developing a design for a solar photovoltaic system and battery storage for NC State Facilities.
39 registered student organizations self-identified their groups as sustainability-related.

16 students were selected for the Social Innovation Fellows program which explores the intersection of ethics, sustainability and innovation.

220 undergraduate students interested in sustainability lived and learned together in the EcoVillage on-campus residential community.

Indigenous Student Success: A federal grant is helping to support Indigenous students on campus by building relationships between tribal communities and higher education.

Equity, Period: NC State’s Menstrual Equity Initiative has installed free menstrual product dispensers across campus, ensuring access to essential hygiene products.

Wolfpack Pride: The NC State LGBTQ Pride Center celebrated its 15th anniversary of promoting respect and creating a culture of equity, inclusion and social justice on campus.

Building A Sustainable Future: The first annual Black Research Symposium explored how to build thriving, just and sustainable communities.

2023 Sustainability Award Winners

Outstanding achievement for sustainability on campus was awarded to the following winners:

• Alie Akins (student category)
• Dr. Karen Leonas (faculty category)
• Laurel Krynock (staff category)
• NC State Turtle Rescue Team (department/organization category)
• Landscape Services (innovation/impact category)

74% of incoming students in 2022 indicated the university’s commitment to the environment and sustainability influenced their decision to attend NC State.

155,756 pounds of food was distributed by Feed the Pack Food Pantry on campus. Of that, 23,542 pounds were collected as part of the inaugural year of Feeding the Pack Campus Challenge. The Pantry also celebrated its 10th anniversary of tackling hunger.

6,409 campus dining meals were donated by students and by NC State Dining to support students facing food insecurity.

181 individuals engaged in the Committee on Racial Equity in the Food System workshop series hosted by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems.
35 university workplaces, student organizations and events were certified sustainable during fiscal year 2023 in recognition of their actions, impact and leadership.
15 companies matched with teams of students in the Business Sustainability Collaborative’s B Corp Clinic to strengthen their social and environmental impact.
5,248 students will save approximately $602,000 every year in textbook costs thanks to a new Alt-Text Project sponsored by University Libraries and Digital Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA).

Campus Buildings Certified for Sustainability

• Centennial Campus design and construction projects earned global recognition for their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Fitts-Woolard Hall earned certification at the Silver level in July 2022 while the NC State Plant Sciences Building certified for high performance and sustainability at the LEED Gold level in March 2023.
• The renovation and addition of Carmichael Gym earned LEED certification at the Silver level. The revitalized space represents a holistic approach to well-being, recreation, fitness and physical education.

Uniform Solutions: Talley Student Union implemented a reuse and recycling program for discarded uniforms and unneeded office supplies and equipment.

Underground Bees: The impact of landscaping decisions on a local breeding colony of ground-nesting bees was explored as part of the Campus As A Classroom program.

New Online Sustainability Map: From beehives to zero waste, a new online map helps users explore the infrastructure and initiatives that showcase NC State’s commitment to sustainability.

Quality Refills: In 2023, the Water Quality Management Team implemented an ongoing testing program beginning with water bottle filling stations in facilities, housing and dining locations. More than 110 filtered and unfiltered fixtures and water bottle filling stations across campus have been sampled with results posted online.

Cruise Campus Sustainably: Transportation partnered with a new electric bike and scooter provider to reduce campus emissions and conduct research to improve campus accessibility and rider safety.

The Corner: A new social hub designed with sustainability from the start opened on Centennial Campus. The open-air space utilizes repurposed shipping containers, picnic tables, pavers and café lights. Interior wooden tables and bar tops were also constructed from a campus tree that fell during a storm.

Building Sustainability
In addition to seven student-led projects, the NC State Sustainability Fund awarded fiscal year 2024 grants to six campus projects with potential to advance sustainability of facilities or campus operations:

• Addition of composting bins inside the TowneBank Center of Carter-Finley Stadium
• An app to enable self-guided tours of campus trees
• Expansion of a campus greenhouse to grow more landscaping plants on-site
• A Sustainable Labs Program to identify ways to reduce the energy, emissions, water and waste footprint of campus research labs
• A microbiological research and engagement project at the NC State Compost Facility and Research Cooperative
• Construction of mountain biking trails at Lake Raleigh Woods

27,298 pounds of clothing, housewares, toiletries and food was collected during campus move-out in 2023 and donated to Feed the Pack Food Pantry and local community nonprofits.

551 new bicycle registrations on campus.

2,560,094 passenger boardings on the Wolfine campus bus system.

745 participants in the WolfTrails Alternative Commuter Program

18.7% of NC State Dining’s food purchases were from campus, local or regional sources.

35% reduction in campus energy use per gross square foot since 2003.

61% reduction in campus potable water use per gross square foot in 2002. Overall campus water reduction per gross square foot is 55%

Global Engagement: NC State Office of Global Engagement capped off its two-year Sustainable Development Initiative which hosted more than 1,000 students, 11 departments and 9 student organizations collaborating in 16 events to explore the breadth and depth of sustainability.

Communicating Sustainability: A new course available to University Honors Program students teaches the power of effective and ethical messaging to create meaningful impact through storytelling.

Sustainable Wolfpack: Claire Henson, a Campus As A Classroom intern for NC State Athletics Fan Experience & Marketing, hosted 10 Sustainable Wolfpack games across the academic year to engage more than 88,876 fans and raise awareness about sustainability.

Empowering Farmers: NC State researchers developed field kits to equip farmers with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate climate change threats.

Urban Streams: A new framework to estimate the total economic value of improving water quality in urban streams was designed to better inform regulatory decisions by state and federal agencies.

Bilingual Kids Make Waves: Researchers find that students who speak more than one language score high on their motivation to advocate for ocean sustainability.

Making Connections: Student analysis of the NC State Sustainability’s Instagram reveals that utilizing videos boosts the account’s reach.

106,675 pageviews on sustainability.ncsu.edu

10,248 followers on NC State’s sustainability social media accounts. 

4,576 average weekly readers of NC State’s sustainability e-newsletter.

2,002 incoming students in fiscal year 2023 requested information about campus sustainability. 

718 community members aged 50+ attended 38 courses related to the global sustainable goals and hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at NC State.

367 sustainability-related events on campus during fiscal year 2023, a 57% increase from 2022.

337 campus employees and students completed online courses on sustainability, recycling, compost and zero waste through NC State’s online learning management system.

946 people attended 10 events during NC State 2022 Energy Week to explore the university’s energy use, research and opportunity to shape a clean energy future.