Sustainability

sustainability bikes

Wellesley is deeply committed to environmental sustainability and is working towards carbon neutrality on campus.

Responsible stewardship of our planet starts at home, and at Wellesley College, situated on one of the most beautiful campuses in North America, we feel a sense of urgency to protect all that surrounds us—and the world beyond. Trustees, student activists, expert faculty, and incredibly dedicated staff have joined together to shepherd Wellesley towards a more sustainable future.

Wellesley’s comprehensive and forward-looking Sustainability Plan and a set of five guiding principles serve as our compass as we seek to advance environmental sustainability and achieve carbon neutrality. E2040 is the working group of the Board of Trustees charged with mapping our route and has begun its work on an Energy Master Plan.

 

  • 2016

    Wellesley’s Sustainability Plan approved by the Wellesley College Board of Trustees

  • 2018

    Wellesley’s Multipart Energy Initiative approved by Wellesley College Board of Trustees

  • 2019

    Launch of E2040 Working Group

  • 2026

    Goal: 37% reduction of campus greenhouse gas emissions (from 2010 baseline)

  • 2036

    Goal: 44% reduction of campus greenhouse gas emissions (from 2010 baseline)

 

Wellesley’s multipart energy initiative: UpdatesWellesley’s Multipart Energy Initiative: Updates E2040 Working GroupE2040 Working Group

 

Sustainability News

Wellesley Ecologist Discusses UN Report on Animal and Plant Extinction
An arial shot of a forrest and land that has been cleared.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services finds that individual and collective actions are necessary to preserve the planet’s biodiversity.
Old Trees Have New Home in Wellesley’s Global Flora Greenhouse
A group of construction workers carry a large tree.

The storied Durant Camellia and three other trees now make their home in the new greenhouse.
Interdisciplinary Research Team Explores Water System on Science Hill
Students work on a project, collecting samples at Paramecium Pond

Amid the ongoing construction of the Science Center, Wellesley faculty, students, and staff use Paramecium Pond and Silver Thread Brook in a new academic collaboration—Wellesley’s Water Challenge—that spans five science disciplines.

 
Wellesley Announces New Multiconstituency Working Group to Create Energy Plan, Pursue Carbon Neutrality
Wellesley's power plant.

Wellesley announces a $24 million energy initiative that will reduce the College’s greenhouse gas emissions, a significant step towards Wellesley’s ultimate goal of carbon neutrality.
EPA Award Recognizes Wellesley’s Work with Food Rescue Program
Food from Wellesley dining halls are loaded onto a truck.

The Environmental Protection Agency recognizes Wellesley for donating 600 pounds of surplus food from its cafeterias to people in need.
How to Change the World Without Leaving Your Residence Hall
Two watercolored boxes with faces on them. Above one text reads, "commingled plastics" and the other "mixed paper and cardboard"

With its new recycling bag initiative, the Office of Sustainability is making it even easier to change the world, one plastic bottle at a time.

 

 

 

Sustainability Committee Sustainability Office Paulson Initiative Botanic Gardens