Sustainability

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.