The threats posed by the climate crisis extend far beyond the University of Michigan community. By bringing together academics, advocates and community leaders, U-M, as a top public research university, has a distinct opportunity to help chart the path forward. Faculty and students from a wide variety of disciplines are working together, in partnership with those on the front lines in communities, to pursue scalable, transferable, financially responsible and just approaches to combat climate change.
Whether pursuing new practices in carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, furthering renewable energy technologies, or assessing environmental determinants of health, U-M faculty advance research and scholarship on virtually every aspect of the climate crisis and sustainability. U-M leadership in this area spans all three campuses, encompassing universitywide carbon neutrality efforts as well as myriad on-the-ground opportunities toward greater sustainability on campus.
Climate Action
Since 2021, U-M has been working toward a comprehensive set of carbon neutrality goals that advance the university’s commitment to climate action. The university is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 across the Flint, Dearborn and Ann Arbor campuses, and encompassing Michigan Medicine/U-M Health and Athletics.
Key strategies pertain to campus planning, building standards and energy conservation, renewable energy purchasing, research and education, leadership structures, vehicle decarbonization, culture and communication, external collaboration, environmental justice and sustainable investing. Notable efforts include building geo-exchange heating and cooling systems, pursuing 100% renewable purchased electricity, enacting new maximum building emissions targets, and utilizing a revolving energy fund to finance energy conservation projects.
In addition, the university is defining new goals in waste reduction, fuel efficiency, healthy environments and community engagement.
Engagement and History
U-M holds a longstanding commitment to environmentalism and sustainability, including a role in the nation’s first “Environmental Teach-In,” which drew more than 15,000 participants. The event served as a model for the events of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. In the 1980s, U-M helped to pioneer the environmental justice discipline. In the 1990s, U-M launched targeted efforts to reduce energy use in buildings, and in the early 2000s, the university began quantifying and reporting its greenhouse gas emissions.
U-M is a founding member of the Midwest Climate Collaborative, which strives to enable a coherent regional response to the climate crisis. U-M serves as the lead institution for the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) — which connects 23 North American universities committed to accelerating climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale. Additionally, the university is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy Better Climate Challenge, the International Sustainable Campus Network, and the U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership.
U-M boasts more than 10,000 certified Planet Blue Ambassadors, who advance sustainability through their studies, work and life at U-M, on and off-campus. The university also has more than 120 student organizations focusing on sustainability or the environment. Initiatives include:
- The Student Sustainability Coalition, which seeks to connect students and student groups to catalyze university sustainability efforts. The group is facilitated by Student Life in collaboration with the Graham Sustainability Institute and other university partners.
- The U-M Sustainable Food Program, a student-led initiative that aims to build just and resilient campus food systems. This includes helping scale the Campus Farm and expanding the Maize and Blue Cupboard.
- Planet Blue Student Leaders, which focuses on peer-to-peer engagement and culture change, with focus on early undergraduates as well as those who are less familiar with U-M carbon neutrality work or sustainability generally.
U-M offers more than 800 sustainability courses and more than 650 faculty actively working on research related to sustainability.
