Sustainability

People walking on a sidewalk amongst green grass and lush trees with a residence hall is in the background

Sustainability is one of the three core values that support SUNY Oneonta’s mission and vision for students. Through the combined efforts of students, faculty and staff, we incorporate sustainability into everything we do.

Sustainability Studies

Our passionate faculty members are dedicated to teaching sustainability--some even participate in an annual workshop to integrate sustainability into their courses.

Majors

Our interdisciplinary Environmental Sustainability, B.S. program prepares you to tackle some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges. In our Sociology, Community Development and Planning Track, B.A. program, you will examine the impact of human population growth and distribution on the environment.

Minors

Our sustainability-focused minors – like Climate Science and Sustainable Planning and Development – complement your studies and match your interests. Whether you're looking for professional preparation or want to expand your knowledge, you can add a minor that works for you.

In the Classroom

You'll get the chance to take sustainability-related classes in your field, whether it's Fashion Entrepreneurship (FASH 4200) in our Fashion and Textiles program or Investment Management (FINC 3233) in our Economics program. In fact, 50% of academic departments have a course designated for sustainability.

Beyond the Classroom

Our experiential learning opportunities connect classroom knowledge with practical, sustainable action.

Research

In Environmental Monitoring (ENSS 3050), students dive into real-world research each semester, gathering and analyzing data both on and off campus.

Upper-level sustainability courses involve hands-on, grant-funded research that you can present at our annual Student Research & Creativity Activity showcase.

Real-World Experience

In Fashion Retail Management (FASH 3210), students work with the campus thrift shop, offering insights into product placement, shop layout and even designing display mannequins to support sustainable fashion practices.

Faculty-Led Trips

New students can join GEOFYRST, a fun, immersive outdoor experience exploring New York and the Northeast – perfect for anyone interested in the environment, regardless of your major.

Current students can join faculty-led academic trips to places like Guatemala, where students collect water samples from Lake Atitlán, and New Orleans, where they help preserve Louisiana’s wetlands.

Profiles

Amy Shultis
Growing up in Oneonta with a mother who worked as a nurse and a father who loved exploring the wilderness, Amy Shultis knew early on that she wanted a career helping people and the environment. After taking three sustainability-focused, faculty-led trips to Guatemala, Japan and New Orleans while a student at SUNY Oneonta, she realized she could pursue both passions with a career as an environmental scientist.
Morgan Whittington
Having grown up in a household that valued environmental sustainability, Morgan Whittington came to SUNY Oneonta with one of her two majors already in mind. From camping trips to traveling across the United States visiting national parks, Whittington has been an “advocate for the planet” ever since she was a child.
Kimmy Cushman Profile
The course of Yale University Ph.D. student and graduate researcher Kimmy Cushman’s life changed dramatically on an autumn day inside SUNY Oneonta’s Science Discovery Center.
Cassidy Napolitano
Studying Fashion at SUNY Oneonta and FIT, Cassidy Napolitano realized her passion for sustainability. The classes she took, clubs she was involved in, and internships she completed helped her personalize her degree path, allowing her to incorporate her two passions: fashion and sustainability. Now, she’s ready to find a career that will allow her to do the same thing.

Get Involved

Whether you're passionate about academics or hands-on activities, there are many ways to dive into sustainability at SUNY Oneonta!

Join a Club

Join one of our sustainability-focused clubs to make an impact on campus and our planet:

Lead the Change

Students have left their mark by leading projects like food waste audits, recycling initiatives, and environmental justice resource sharing.

You can follow in their footsteps by becoming a Sustainability RA, volunteering as an EcoRep, interning with the Office of Sustainability, or getting involved with the Red Dragon Thrift Shop. Want to make an even bigger impact? Join the University Advisory Council on Sustainability to help guide university-wide efforts.

Recognition

Your contributions won’t go unnoticed!

The Green Dragon Recognition Program celebrates your dedication to sustainability each spring with an exclusive ceremony during Green Dragon Week, a campus-wide celebration of Earth Day that includes an environmental education and communication speaker.

From internships to service projects, your efforts will be recognized and shared with your hometown, local media, and high school and community leaders.

Governor Hochul highlights SUNY Oneonta as first state university to power part of its campus with locally sourced energy through NYSERDA program.

Read more about this program and accolade

Green Facilities, Initiatives and Practices

From cutting-edge energy solutions to environmentally conscious building designs, we’re taking big strides toward a greener future.

SUNY Oneonta was one of the first SUNY campuses to complete our Clean Energy Master plan, which provides a roadmap to carbon neutrality

Alumni Hall, with its LEED Platinum certification, features geothermal heating and state-of-the-art sustainable systems.

The Physical Science building has a LEED Gold certification.

Plans are underway for Netzer's sustainable transformation.

Many building across campus meet LEED certification standards.

  • A 1.5 MW solar array on West Street will supplement the campus electric supply with renewable energy.
  • We are hosting a $6.75M large scale battery demonstration technology project, funding from a DOE grant and partnering with NYPA and Urban Electric Corporation, showcasing large scale battery storage systems manufactured from non-rare earth materials.
  • SUNY Oneonta continues a long-standing program of LED lighting conversions, the next project being a major lighting replacement in the Morris complex and the Chase Physical Education building.
  • In partnership with ONC BOCES we’re using a $300,000 grant to develop the Offshore Wind Energy Pipeline Program and a Sustainable Energy Demonstration Lab, providing high school and college students with hands-on training, micro-credentials and research opportunities in offshore wind and renewable energy.
  • In 2024 SUNY Oneonta facilities staff participated in a New York state delegation to Denmark hosted by the Denmark Ministry of Foreign affairs and their trade council. The visit showcased heat pump and district heating technologies that will be helpful in future decarbonization projects.

Oneonta Auxiliary Services (OAS) and Sodexo are passionate about sustainability and making a difference in your dining experience on campus. Together, OAS and Sodexo work to make eco-friendly dining a priority by:

Buying local, farm-fresh produce and cutting down waste

  • Red's Best Seafood: Straight from Boston, Red’s Best delivers fresh, locally caught fish to Mills Dining Hall on Wednesdays for you to enjoy fresh on Thursdays and Fridays.
  • Seasons Café: This café celebrates local products like Stagecoach Coffee from Cooperstown and Divinitea organic teas from Schenectady – including our custom Red Dragon blend. The menu changes with the seasons, and you'll love our Greek yogurt bar with sweet or savory options.
  • Farm Fresh Station: Located in Mills Hall, this station connects you to local farms through fresh dishes and educational opportunities. It's part of our broader sustainability efforts, including composting, food waste reduction and farm-to-table dining.

Throughout the year, interns from the Office of Sustainability lead Weigh the Waste demo events to show how much post-consumer food gets tossed – raising awareness about the environmental impact and the missed opportunity to help those in need. From wasted energy in food production to overflowing landfills, every plate counts. Together, we can make smarter choices and reduce waste for a more sustainable campus.

Tackling waste

  • New napkin holders cut napkin waste by 40%, while digital signage in dining halls reduces paper waste by replacing printed menus.
  • Trayless dining saves 250,000 gallons of water and reduces food waste by 15% each semester.
  • Food pulpers in all three dining halls reduce food and napkin waste volume by 85%.
  • Pre-consumer food waste is donated to a local pig farm, and Starbucks recycles coffee grounds for use in gardens and composting.
  • Cans, bottles and cardboard are sorted and recycled across all dining halls.
  • Catering offers compostable flatware, plates and cups made from corn-based products to further reduce plastic use.

Turning Food Waste into Renewable Energy

We are proud to be the first university in New York state to install the Grind2Energy food waste management system in Mills and Wilsbach Dining Halls. This innovative system transforms food scraps into clean water, renewable energy and nutrient-rich fertilizer through a partnership between Oneonta Auxiliary Services (OAS), Sodexo Dining, Facilities, Sustainability and Casella Waste Management.

How It Works:
  1. Food scraps of all kinds – including fats, oils, grease and bones – are collected and ground into a slurry.
  2. The slurry is stored in a closed holding tank that eliminates odors and pests.
  3. When full, the system automatically schedules a pickup. The slurry is then transported to a local anaerobic digestion facility at a dairy farm in Poestenkill, NY.
  4. At the facility, methane is captured to produce renewable energy, water is recovered, and the remaining material becomes natural fertilizer for its farm, completing a sustainable cycle.

This system processes both pre- and post-consumer waste efficiently, reduces the need for food scrap receptacles, and cuts down on truck traffic to campus. By adopting Grind2Energy, we are taking a big step forward in its sustainability efforts while helping to support local agriculture and renewable energy initiatives.

  • With 10 locations for electric vehicle charging stations and more planned for 2025, our growing electric vehicle fleet and EV charging stations support sustainable travel.
  • To help with sustainable travel and reduce carbon emissions from traffic around campus, three bus stops are located on campus.
  • Carbon emissions reductions--since 1993, our campus' scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions have been greatly reduced despite a 10% increase in campus size.
  • Water-saving initiatives:
    • We're working on a $3.5M project to mitigate stormwater runoff and help prevent flooding of downstream areas.
    • Recent site projects include underground stormwater retention vaults to slow the runoff.
    • Many of our buildings have low-flow toilets
  • Some campus sidewalks have heating elements embedded in them to increase snow melt and reduce salt usage in the winter, and all future sidewalk renovations include this feature as a standard.
  • We are working on a $3.5M project to install additional emergency generators at critical locations to help campus withstand extended power outages during extreme weather events.
  • The Emergency Services building uses fully electric energy, and electrical consumption is offset by renewable energy credits
  • The newly renovated Alumni Hall building is fully electric with a ground source heat pump system, and electrical consumption is offset by renewable energy credits.
  • We prioritize native pollinator plants, “no-mow” zones and sustainable landscaping standards.
  • Celebrating five successful years in August 2024, our move-in program diverted 4.6 tons of cardboard, 250+ pounds of polystyrene, and a bale of plastic film from landfills, earning the NYSAR3 Leadership Award.
  • Our on-campus thrift shop collected 528 pounds of clothing donations in one day. Items that could not be sold or put out are donated to a textile recycler.
  • Site preparation has started to create a “carbon sink” wood lot on vacant land north of campus.
  • All cleaning supplies are Green Clean certified.
  • Our hydration stations provide quick bottle refills, reduce plastic waste, and track the waste saved with a built-in counter.
  • Guidelines and goals for the procurement of promotional materials were established in 2018, to support and facilitate the purchase of products, services and materials that minimize the harmful effects to the environment from their production, transportation, use and disposition.
  • Our Building Temperature Policy sets heating and cooling temperatures for buildings during occupied and unoccupied hours.
  • Our No Idling Policy prohibits campus-owned vehicles from idling unnecessarily.

Sustainable Accolades

stars badge

SUNY Oneonta proudly earned a STARS Silver rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, highlighting our commitment to integrating sustainability across all areas of campus life.

LEED Badge

Our campus boasts two official LEED-certified buildings – Alumni Hall (Platinum) and Physical Science (Gold) – with others meeting the criteria for evaluation.

Tree Campus USA

SUNY Oneonta is honored to be part of the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus Higher Education program, which recognizes institutions for exemplary tree management and care, making our campus healthier and happier.

Clean Green Campus Badge

We are a NYSERDA Clean Green Campus Leader, recognizing our ambitious carbon reduction goals and that we are on the path to achieving them through comprehensive clean energy investments, including staff dedicated to advancing clean energy and low-carbon solutions across our campus and community.

Contact

General Questions

Contact

Office of Sustainability

Email

sustainability@oneonta.edu

Facility Related Questions

Contact

Office of Facilities, Safety and Physical Plant

Phone

607-436-3224

Request Information

Join our Admissions mailing list to learn more about SUNY Oneonta!

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