Author: NYUGreen

Washing Machines in NYU Residence Halls Default to Cold Wash Cycle

Washing machine set to cold wash cycleEach of NYU’s 23 residence halls has had their washing machines set to use the cold wash cycle as default. This change will reduce energy consumption in dorms and provide additional sustainable benefits for the garments washed! 

Cold Wash Cycles Reduce Energy Use! 

Heating water accounts for around 90% of a washing machine’s energy use. By defaulting to cold water, one household can eliminate 1,600 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2e) emissions per year, the equivalent of avoiding 2,000 miles traveled in a car. With approximately 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students living in NYU residence halls, NYU has the potential to eliminate a significant amount of energy and emissions!  

Cold Wash Cycles Are Better for Your Clothes 

Doing laundry cleans your clothes, but hot water can lead to your clothes being worn out faster. 

By using cold water, you can:

  • Prevent delicate fabrics from shrinking or breaking 
  • Reduce fading & color bleeding
  • Prevent wrinkles
  • Better address stains, which do not always respond to warmer water 

Detergents are also produced to work with cold washes so there’s no need to worry about the possibility of your soap not activating. 

The decision to default washing machines to a cold wash cycle is one piece of the puzzle toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 and creating a more sustainable NYU!

Spring Welcome 2025 with the Office of Sustainability!

 

Spring Welcome LogoThe Office of Sustainability is excited to be participating in Spring Welcome 2025! Swing by one of our events to meet our office and other students interested in environmental issues. You’ll also learn about NYU’s climate goals and how you can get involved in sustainability on campus. We can’t wait to see you soon! 

EVENTS

  • Climate Action Mixer with Plant Meditation and Plant Giveaway: Participate in a 30-minute meditation offering gratitude to the natural world. Afterwards, enjoy plant-based snacks while getting to know your peers.
  • Climate Action Mixer with Games:  Meet other students who are interested in environmental issues and learn about how you can help combat climate change, starting now. Plant-based snacks will be provided.
    • Thurs, 1/23 from 12:00pm-2:00pm
    • Kimmel Center, Room 405/406

NYC Congestion Pricing is Now in Effect

The Congestion Relief Zone Toll, commonly known as congestion pricing, is now in effect in New York City.

What is NYC’s congestion pricing charge?

Vehicles are charged a fee to enter New York City’s Central Business District (CBD), which is categorized as Manhattan neighborhoods south of 60th Street. The toll amount depends on the type of vehicle and time of day among other factors with most passenger vehicles seeing a $9 once-a-day fee.

Why does New York need congestion pricing?

  • Congestion is getting worse. New York City has dealt with street congestion for decades, with over 700,000 vehicles entering the CBD daily. Drivers feel these effects with traffic moving at an average speed of 6.9 mph in 2024, a 20% decrease from speeds ten years ago. 
  • Gridlock is bad for businesses, residents, and visitors. New Yorkers lose 117 hours a year on average sitting in traffic, translating to lost wages and productivity. Emergency response times for health emergencies, fires, and crimes have increased significantly over the past decade. And idling cars contribute to overall pollution and a decrease in air quality. 
  • Revenue from congestion pricing will benefit public transportation. The collected tolls are projected to generate around $15 billion for the MTA, which will bring critical improvements to subways, buses, and commuter railroads. Projects include the modernization of signal systems, the Second Avenue Subway line expansion, an increase of the electric bus fleet, and improvement to elevators for seniors and those with disabilities, all of which will ensure riders have faster and more reliable commutes.

Benefits

  • Quality of life will improve. Congestion pricing will reduce vehicular traffic. With fewer vehicles on the road, streets are safer for pedestrians and cyclists, public bus trips will be faster, and neighborhoods will be quieter. 
  • Emissions will be reduced, leading to a healthier, more sustainable NYC. Congestion pricing is projected to reduce traffic-related pollution by up to 10%, significantly improving public health. This follows a similar pattern to the first year of London’s congestion pricing program: NO2 emissions decreased by 13.5%, particulate matter decreased by 15.5%, and the positive impact on air quality added 1,888 years to the lives of Londoners. The benefits were even more dramatic in Stockholm, where congestion pricing cut hospital visits due to childhood asthma nearly in half. 

“Congestion pricing is fundamentally about meeting three critical objectives: Ensuring our commuters can rely on safe subways and commuter trains now and into the future, ensuring we can decongest our clogged streets, improving the quality of life for residents, the safety of pedestrians and access for emergency vehicles, and ensuring we reduce vehicle emissions to enhance our air quality.” – Governor Kathy Hochul 

NYU Sustainability 2024 #YearinReview

2024 Year in Review bannerWhat a great year for sustainability at NYU! 

2024 saw the launch of new initiatives, programs, and events advancing sustainability across the university. From building re-openings to a university-wide survey, let’s take a look at some of this year’s best moments!

This year’s Earth Month was jam-packed with almost 50 events throughout the month in celebration of sustainability, climate action, and the environment. Events explored food, culture, careers, energy, the arts, and more, all through the lens of environmentalism and sustainability.

Students speaking to recruiters at the 2024 Green Jobs Fair

  • As part of Earth Month, we launched NYU’s inaugural Green Jobs Fair. Students were invited to explore careers in sustainability, build their networks, and learn more about a range of industries. Nearly 700 students signed up for this fair! 
  • The Office of Sustainability launched its Sustainability Leadership Program. This intensive cohort-based six-week program allowed students to explore climate advocacy, outreach, and peer-to-peer education. 
  • The Environmental and Racial Justice Network held its Spring Summit with an in-person fireside chat to kick off the 2-day event! The summit explored the themes of food and climate justice and had special guest speakers Dr. Robert Bullard who is oftenJauna Vitale delivering open remarks at podium for ERJN spring summit. credited as being the ‘Father of Environmental Justice,’ and Jasmine Davenport, the Executive Director of Our Climate. 

NYU announced it would be among the consortium of leading institutions to establish a world-leading climate solutions campus on Governors Island, as part of the New York Climate Exchange. It is expected to open its first facilities on the island by 2028!

Exterior of Rubin HallThis summer, 10 students were able to explore sustainability career fields with our 4th annual round of Sustainability Internship Grants. Accepted students worked at organizations like the Butterfly Network, UNICEF, Oakland Zoo, Terraform ONE, and more!

After a year of construction, Rubin Hall welcomed new students for fall 2024 and is on track to achieve Passive House certification and LEED Platinum. This nearly 100-year-old building has been outfitted with new windows, insulation, and air conditioning, while expected to have a 100% reduction in fossil fuel usage. Once certified, it will be the largest Passive House retrofit in the U.S.

NYU hosted over 100 sustainability-related events in the 2023-2024 academic school year. To make it easier, the Office of Sustainability launched a Sustainability Event Funding Program, which offers up to $1,500 to support these events. All events also follow our Green Events Standard, furthering sustainability initiatives at the administration level!

September was a busy time for sustainability at NYU! With Climate Week at NYU, the university held almost 30 events to celebrate taking climate action. One of those events was the 2024 Plant-Based Food Festival, which gave the NYU community tNeeti Jain speaking at podium with Plant Based Food Festival sign on stage.he chance to explore delicious and sustainable treats from different brands and local restaurants.

At the festival, NYU announced that it would be joining the NYC Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge! This city initiative aims to decrease food-related greenhouse gas emissions and NYU pledged to reduce its emissions 25% by 2030. 

The Sustainability Leadership Program evolved into the Sustainability Leaders Fellowship, now a year-long program! This program builds on the pilot by allowing students to develop project proposals to tackle sustainability challenges at NYU. 

In October, the Office of Sustainability launched the 2024 Transportation Survey to help inform safe, healthy, convenient, accessible, and sustainable travel practices for the NYU community. The survey ran for 6 weeks and garnered over 19,000 responses! 

Climate Change Initiative mixer with faculty mingling Two NYU spaces making up over 40,000 square footage achieved LEED certification in November! The fifth floor of Meyer Hall received LEED Gold certification and the Tisch Virtual Production Center at Industry City received LEED Platinum.

NYU held a soft launch for the Climate Change Initiative, which brought together faculty and staff from around the university to face climate crises head-on.

We’re ending the year on a great note, with NYU ranking #15 on the Princeton Review’s 2025 Top 50 Green Colleges and #9 in the QS Sustainability 2025 Edition in the USA!

A big thank you to all NYU community members who continue to work tirelessly to make sustainability a priority all year round! NYU will continue to develop new programs and initiatives as it strives to be a leader in climate and sustainability well into 2025!

NYU Once Again Ranks in USA Top 10 for QS Sustainability Rankings!

QS World University Rankings LogoNYU is ranked #9 in the USA in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability for 2025, and #52 internationally out of 1,743 participating institutions. The QS Sustainability Rankings measure an institution’s capacity to undertake the world’s greatest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges and feature nearly 1,800 universities from around the world. 

There are three categories—Environmental Impact (which comprises 45% of the overall ranking), Social Impact (45%), and Governance (10%)— which impact how universities are ranked:

  • Environmental Impact is focused on environmental education, research, and sustainability.
  • Social Impact is focused on employability and opportunities, equality, health and well-being, impact of education, and knowledge exchange.
  • Governance assesses good governance, which is a set of practices and guidelines that ensure a university is managed effectively and transparently.

NYU’s strong position in the QS sustainability rankings reflects the university’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis in a variety of ways. With new initiatives such as the Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge, Sustainability Leaders Fellowship, and the Climate Change Initiative, NYU continues to advance towards climate neutrality in 2040.