The newly occupied Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building (NRB) is a state-of-the-art facility for WashU School of Medicine researchers, with many amenities and a team of dedicated staff. As of late March, Alicia Hubert has joined the NRB team as the newly appointed program manager and NRB operations liaison to research labs and green […]
Now that St. Louis is taking a turn towards warmer weather, the WashU Farmers Market has moved back outside to the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Quad. The Farmers Market has been a staple of the WashU community since 2010, bringing new and familiar faces to campus over the years. Many of our vendors […]
It is no secret that healthcare has a massive impact on the environment. In fact, if global healthcare services were a country, they would amount to the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. As the effects of climate change on public health and infrastructure are increasing, the need for specialized sustainability practices within the healthcare sector […]
The newly constructed Neuroscience Research Building has been an exciting new addition to the WashU School of Medicine campus, with many sustainable features that make it likely to receive a Gold LEED rating. The associated Newstead Garage has also been built with sustainability in mind and is seeking Bronze Parksmart certification in early 2024. While […]
In January 2024, WashU School of Medicine is launching an exciting new initiative to reduce catering waste at the Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC). The EPNEC event team, WashU Sustainability, and Bon Appetit Management Company are partnering to offer reusable containers for boxed lunches at events held within EPNEC. This exciting new program was […]
Washington University takes its commitment to eating locally sourced and sustainable food seriously, as seen by collaborations with dining partners, the medical campus farmers market, and the WashU community supported agriculture (CSA) program. The WashU CSA program is in partnership with HOSCO (Holistic Organic Sustainable Cooperatives), a not-for-profit committed to food justice in St. Louis. […]
In 2018, the WashU School of Medicine Operations and Facilities Management Department published its first Sustainable Operations Strategic Plan for 2018 – 2025. This document was built upon the Office of Sustainability’s institution wide plan that was published in 2015, but shines light on programs and plans that are specific to the School of Medicine. Now […]
Every year, healthcare leaders from over 1,000 hospitals across the country converge at the annual CleanMed conference, this year held in Pittsburgh, PA. CleanMed is hosted by Practice Greenhealth and Healthcare Without Harm, two organizations focused on fighting climate change within the healthcare sector. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to global human […]
Written by Alicia Hubert and Heather Craig, WUSM Sustainability Team Over the past few months, labs across both the Medical Campus and the Danforth Campus have been testing out the new certification checklist for the Green Labs Program. Labs have been able to commit to the program since early 2020, but this is the first […]
After many requests by students and staff, WashU’s School of Medicine is excited to announce a pilot post-consumer compost collection program! While back-of-house compost has been collected from the kitchens for many years, the pandemic paused efforts to expand the School of Medicine’s waste diversion programs. WUSM will be “pressing play” in February 2023 with […]
Written by Communications Associate, Jarea Fang Climate change is a scary reality whether you’re on the leading edge of climate research or an individual experiencing the impacts of it. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared climate change to be the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century. According to a 2021 […]
Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly more common on the road. You can now even find them on the School of Medicine campus! In 2022, the School of Medicine has taken big steps in transitioning to a more fuel-efficient fleet. Two Ford E-transits, which are fully electric vehicles, were added to the Operations and Facilities […]
Starting April 7th, WashU will launch a partnership with HOSCO as its new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) provider. HOSCO (Holistic Organic Sustainable Cooperatives), is a sustainable not-for-profit business incubator model for food production, entrepreneurship and apprenticeship training. Their mission is to significantly increase access of local foods while creating jobs and economic development by […]
Transportation, including our daily commutes, is one of the largest global emitters of greenhouse gases. It’s also the emitter that can feel most personal. Many value their morning commute as a rare moment of peace and quiet, others enjoy the ability to hop on a plane to visit relatives, and nothing beats the freedom of taking a spontaneous road trip. Due […]
One of the key phrases that continuously circles through the Office of Sustainability is waste reduction. Students across WashU’s campuses are advocating for the university community to reduce waste wherever possible. The WashU School of Medicine’s (WUSM) Sustainability Group is especially concerned about waste reduction, considering their chosen field is notoriously one of the more wasteful industries in the nation. […]
WashU School of Medicine has created a new position: Director of Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure. This position will be housed within the Operations and Facilities Maintenance Department. Now with two dedicated full-time staff, the visibility and impact of sustainability initiatives on the Medical School campus have expanded leaps and bounds, and highlights the importance that […]
The Sustainability Champions are a group of Washington University School of Medicine custodians dedicated to sustainability. They ensure that your recycling makes the journey from your desk or lab to the dumpster for transport. Our custodians are committed to keeping our campus clean and safe. We would like to give a special thank you to […]
Donna Krekel, Senior Research Administrator in the department of Otolaryngology, and Gary De Wet, Technical Support Specialist at the Office of WUSM Chief Information Officer, have been vanpooling to and from the WashU School of Medicine campus every day of the week for over 20 years. Their vanpool party, which has been running since 1999, […]
In late 2019, a group of 10 individuals from a variety of organizations and companies in the St. Louis region came together to form the board of the new St. Louis Chapter of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL). St. Louis is a hub for scientific research and has some of the world’s best […]
Reducing plastic use is a critical step to decreasing both waste and greenhouse gas emissions. The custodial department at the WashU School of Medicine has taken this idea and ran with it by reducing their dependency on plastic throughout their daily operations. What started as an initiative to find plastic liners that actually fit the […]
As part of an effort to upgrade its campus entrances, the WashU Medical School conducted a major landscape transformation within the two large triangle areas associated with the new “Washington University Medical Campus” signage near the 64-40/Kingshighway interchange. Since its completion in the fall of 2019, the project, which consisted of the replacement of turf […]
On February 5th, liaisons representing offices from across WashU campuses gathered to celebrate participation in the Green Office Program and recognized sustainability leaders during the 4th annual Green Carpet Awards. The Green Office Program encourages the adoption of policies and practices that reduce the environmental impacts of office operations. This highly anticipated event recognized offices […]
Accounting for over 1.6 million square feet of campus space and using between 2.5 and 5 times the amount of energy as office spaces, labs represent an important opportunity to reduce the university’s carbon emissions and expand our multi-faceted effort to address climate change. Building upon the success of the Green Office Program, WashU is […]
A recent heavy rainstorm in St. Louis caused a storm drain backup and minor flooding in the gymnasium in the basement of Olin Residence Hall at the School of Medicine. The WUSM facilities team was able to solve the drainage problem to prevent flooding in future rain events, but the gym floor was not able […]
Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers (ULTs) are a critical piece of equipment in many research labs and are designed to protect valuable samples. Capable of reaching temperatures as low as -85 degrees Celsius (or -121 degrees Fahrenheit), ULTs require a significant amount of electricity to operate — more than a typical American home — and are thereby […]
“To the chickens!” is now a common phrase used in the Clinical Translational Research Unit (CTRU) Metabolic Research Kitchen. This refers to the food scraps produced by the kitchen operations that are thrown into bright green 5-gallon buckets and saved for the chickens at Howie Farms, one of the vendors from the School of Medicine […]
The rain didn’t stop the 2019 WUSM Earth Day Festival from being a hit! On Thursday, April 18th, the WUSM community welcomed representatives from 20+ exhibitors from the St. Louis region. Because of the typical wet spring weather, the event was held inside the BJC Institute of Health lobby and 2nd-floor link. Many new vendors […]
The first Sustainability Action Team (SAT) meeting of 2019 took place on Wednesday, March 27 on the School of Medicine campus. The group has been on pause over the last year while administrators conducted a sustainability survey and worked to better structure all of the sustainability programs on the medical campus. The first SAT meeting […]
For the 4th year in a row, the WUSM Operations and Facilities Management Department is accepting new and gently used shoes for donation from March 11th through May 31st. Since 2015, the WUSM community has collected over 4 tons of shoes for donation to the ShoeCrew Water Projects, a local non-profit that provides clean water […]
Last fall, WashU and the St. Louis Higher Education Sustainability Consortium (HESC) hosted a Brining Workshop to bring together authorities from the St. Louis region to discuss the use of road salt during snow and ice events. The workshop featured speakers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and a Biologist from SLU to […]
Low costs, consumer demands, and organizational commitments to mitigate climate change have resulted in rapid growth of the renewable energy industry that is transforming how the US and the world generates energy. In response to growing student interest in renewable energy careers, the Office of Sustainability is launching a new program that will provide students […]
The Green Office program is a university-wide initiative that has had great success over the past several years with over 100 certified office spaces across all campuses. The medical school had 15 certified offices in 2017 and is planning to double that number by the end of 2019. With the recent Green Office Luncheons (pictured […]
Throughout each semester, the medical students at WashU School of Medicine attend daily lunch lectures. The Operations and Facilities Management Department (OFMD) recently supported the Student Sustainability Group in their effort to reduce the waste footprint for these catered events for the first 2 weeks, when lecture attendance is highest. The student group’s leader, Alex […]
The future is bright for transit in St. Louis! Three projects, one completed and two upcoming, aim to enhance Metro’s current offerings and bring exciting new transit options to the region. Cortex Metrolink Station Grand Opening About a month ago, the long-awaited Metrolink station opened in the Cortex Innovation Community, just east of WashU’s medical […]
This fall, the Office of Sustainability, in partnership with Parking and Transportation Services (Danforth) and the Operations & Facilities Management Department (WUSM), is bringing back the free bike tune-up series. After construction in the East End and parking changes, alternative transportation has become increasingly significant at WashU, leading many car commuters to drop the car […]
Washington University in St. Louis is being recognized nationally for its institution-wide sustainability efforts: the school recently earned a gold STARS rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. The university also landed in […]
“The Last Straw” for Bon Appétit The School of Medicine campus has two major dining facilities – Shell Café in McDonnell Medical Sciences Building and Farmstead Café in McDonnell Pediatric Research Building. Both of these cafés are operated by Bon Appétit Management Company, a full food-service management company based in Palo Alto, CA. Sustainability is […]
Live Near Your Work, WashU’s employee housing assistance program, is growing! The program, established 10 years ago, provides forgivable loans to WashU and BJC Healthcare employees who buy homes in certain neighborhoods near campus. Recently, the Washington University Medical Center Redevelopment Corporation announced the addition of new eligible neighborhoods, including Visitation Park, Academy, Fountain […]
[Pile of plastics in China – Photo Credit: Fred Dufour/Agence France-Presse] In 2010, WashU made the transition to single-stream recycling on all campuses, making it easy and convenient for the university community to recycle. At the time, this change helped the university to nearly double consumer waste diversion. Today, about 42% of the waste generated by […]
If you haven’t walked through Hope Plaza recently, now is the time! The native garden beds are currently sporting their summer best with a variety of bold and subtle floral displays. The WUSM landscape design and maintenance crew focuses on planting native plants where possible because of the reduced irrigation needs and the benefits to […]
This summer, the Office of Sustainability, in partnership with Parking and Transportation Services (Danforth) and the Operations & Facilities Management Department (WUSM), is bringing back the Summer Commuter Resource Fair series, featuring services and service providers that support employees and graduate students in their transportation choices. Alternative transportation – which includes biking, walking, public transit, […]
“Walk Smart. Bike Smart. Drive Smart.” – The Pedestrian and Vehicular Safety and Education Program has the straightforward goal of making the WashU School of Medicine campus a safe place for all types of commuters. The WUSM community had the chance to see this program represented at the recent Earth Day festival in Hope Plaza. […]
A couple of weeks ago, the WashU School of Medicine welcomed Alicia Hubert, who will be the first Sustainability Coordinator for the medical campus. In her new role, Alicia will be in the Operations & Facilities Management Department on the WUSM campus and she will also work closely with the Office of Sustainability to coordinate […]
Green Events Help educate the WashU community about how to correctly sort waste while ensuring that iconic events are truly zero waste. ThurtenE Carnival April 13-15 // Parking lot in front of Simon Hall and Francis Field Manage waste stations and help attendees correctly sort their waste into landfill, recycling and compost! Volunteers are eligible […]
The Office of Sustainability, in partnership with Residential Life and Facilities, is excited to announce the launch of WashU’s eighth annual Green Cup competition! Among Washington University’s South 40 Residential Colleges and School of Medicine residents, leagues will compete to reduce their energy usage. A Competition to Save Energy On the Danforth campus, electrical energy use from […]
October was Campus Sustainability Month at WashU and in many other universities and colleges across the US. During October, the WashU community was offered a wide variety of events, ranging from festivals to conferences, movie screenings, tours, panel discussions, and more. With sustainability as a driver, the topics covered by these events were also very […]
Join the Office of Sustainability, Parking and Transportation Services and friends for a month of exciting events centered around Active Transportation! Transportation makes up the largest percentage of the average American’s carbon footprint, making active transportation programming a crucial component of Campus Sustainability Month. But going car-free, by biking, walking, and using public transit, is […]
Washington University School of Medicine is expanding the use of solar-powered waste and recycling bins on the medical campus. In May of 2017 two sets of the Bigbelly & Smartbelly waste stations will be installed around the exterior of the new Mid-Campus Center. The Bigbelly Waste station is a solar compacting trash receptacle that is […]
Why Shift Your Commute? Being an active commuter can benefit your life in a number of ways. By incorporating active transportation into your commute, you can save money, reduce stress, and build a healthier lifestyle! Expenses associated with driving to work every day include gas, maintenance, and depreciation of the vehicle, all of which […]
On January 27, the first annual Washington University Green Carpet Awards recognized the 55 university offices that certified or re-certified with the Green Office Program in 2016. To certify, an office must first fulfill requirements that promote a sustainable workplace and environment, ranging from sourcing recycled-content paper to eliminating individual space heaters. Since the program […]