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UR's draft Sustainability Plan is ready for your feedback

Get to know how the University is designing a strategic plan for sustainability on campus and let us know what you think.Learn More

UR Announces Transformative Solar Agreement

A new off-campus solar array will match 100% of our campus's electricity needs with solar energy.Learn More

Join URSA

Learn about sustainability, attend exclusive events, volunteer, and make a difference.Learn More

A New Eco-Corridor is Coming to Campus

Stream restoration, invasive species removal, and a new hiking and biking trail are transforming Gambles Mill Corridor.Learn More

UROSE is Open

Drop off office supplies or do some free shopping every Wednesday from 1:30-2:30 in Puryear 114.Learn more
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bees housed in two on-campus hivesRead More
solar array installed in 2016Read More
target year for University carbon neutralityRead More
LEED-certified buildings
of preconsumer food waste composted by Heilman Dining Center each year
waste diversion rate by 2025
green offices certified
students who lived in certified green rooms
sustainability courses offered each year
Sustainability Facts

Events

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Sustainability News and Stories

UR's Growing List of LEED Gold Certified Buildings Expands by Two
The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded two University of Richmond buildings, The Queally Center and Richmond Hall, with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification.
UR Geography and the Environment Professor David Salisbury Receives Grant to Map Threatened Borderlands in the Amazon
David Salisbury, University of Richmond associate professor and chair of the Department of Geography and the Environment, has received a grant from the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History to research environmental challenges in the Amazon.
UR Employees Promote Campus Sustainability
Although the Sustainability department spearheads a number of environmental initiatives, faculty and staff from around campus are “committed to reducing and reusing,” according to Rob Andrejewski, Director of Sustainability. Members of the campus community proactively find ways to turn Sustainability’s goals into a collective effort. 
UR Office for Sustainability Offers Tips for America Recycles Day
Rob Andrejewski, director of University of Richmond’s Office of Sustainability, offers the following recycling tips leading up to America Recycles Day on Nov. 15.
University of Richmond Makes The Princeton Review's List of 'Green Colleges' for 9th Year in a Row
The Princeton Review has once again recognized the University of Richmond’s sustainability efforts in its “Guide to 399 Green Colleges.” The 2018 edition profiles nearly 400 colleges that The Princeton Review names as having the most exceptional commitments to sustainability.
UR Faculty and Students Raise and Release Monarch Butterflies
As part of an international conservation effort to protect the declining monarch population, University of Richmond students have been raising, tagging, and releasing monarch butterflies.
University of Richmond to Host Panel Discussion About Environmental Justice and Pipelines Debate
The University of Richmond’s Department of Geography and the Environment is hosting a panel discussion focusing on environmental justice Oct. 2 in the Carole Weinstein International Center Commons.
University of Richmond Faculty and Staff Rescue Tens of Thousands of Bees from Downed Tree Following Monday's Tornadoes
As a result of the storms across the region Sept. 17, a large tree filled with bees fell across Towana Road near the University of Richmond campus.
Setting the Standard for Sustainability; New Spider Solar Project Puts University of Richmond on Fast Track to Carbon Neutrality
The University of Richmond plans to purchase renewable energy from a large Virginia solar installation. The move makes UR the first institution of higher education in the southeast to match 100 percent of its electricity needs with solar energy.
Chelsea Eareckson, '19
Ever since her childhood on the beaches of the Jersey shore, Chelsea Eareckson, ’19, has loved the ocean. Today, as climate change threatens the fragile balance of many of the ocean’s ecosystems, Eareckson, a double major in leadership studies and biology, is on a mission to help restore the ocean and promote conservation.
UR installs pollinator garden during National Pollinator Week
Jennifer Sevin, a visiting lecturer in biology, and her students are teaming up with Kirstin Berben, biology laboratories manager and one of UR’s beekeepers, to create a pollinator garden during National Pollinator Week.
'Bee Student' Beer Collaboration
Collaboration doesn’t always have a flavor. But Bee Student, a collaboration between Three Notch’d RVA Collab House and the University of Richmond, boasts a smooth, creamy body and bold flavor from dark roasted oats, lactose, and honey.
UR professors receive NSF support for rock pools research
University of Richmond biology professor Kristine Grayson has received a $20,000 Research Opportunity Award grant from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative project on understanding species diversity in rock pool communities in the James River.
Three Notch'd RVA Collab House releases Bee Student beer in collaboration with UR
On June 14, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House releases Bee Student, a honey bourbon-barrel imperial milk stout brewed in collaboration with the University of Richmond.
Three UR students awarded Critical Language Scholarships
Three University of Richmond students have been awarded U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships to study foreign languages overseas this summer.

@beagreenspider on Instagram

Traveling for the holidays?
Campus is looking extra beautiful after the snowstorm.
The end of the semester is approaching quickly, here are a few easy sustainable practices for break!♻️💡
This semester both Richmond Hall and the Queally Center earned LEED Gold Certifications!
Awesome news!!
#throwbackthursday to the South Africa Sustainability Challenge and congrats to the winners! 🥇 First place: Shani Buchholz 🥈Second place: Jason Cope 🥉Third place: Zac de Lusignan 🏅Winning Team: Information Services . . . Again, congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who participated!
Last night was our Sustainability Plan Town Hall! . . If you were unable attend last night don’t worry!
Will we see you at the Sustainability plan Town Hall tomorrow?
Happy almost #Thanksgiving 🦃 🥗 🥧 Want to have a more sustainable holiday?
Today is the final day of the South Africa Sustainability Challenge and the theme is energy! . . Did you know that in South Africa, 7.9% of energy comes from renewable sources, while the remainder comes from coal and other fossil fuels. . Also, did you know that the University of Richmond has a solar farm that will offset 100% of the energy we use on campus?
Today is day 4 of the South Africa Sustainability Challenge AND America Recycles day! . . . Did you know that the average South African household produces 2kg of waste everyday and the country ranks 15th for overall amount of waste generated?
Today’s focus for #URSouthAfricaWeek was water. This year in Cape Town, the need for long-term, sustainable water sourcing became abundantly clear.