Tag: Recycling

#GreenAbroad: NYU Berlin

In response to student organizing and a demand for more sustainable infrastructure, NYU Berlin began implementing a multi-phase action plan to ‘green’ their campus in 2011 . NYU Berlin hosts plastic-free and zero-waste events, providing organic, locally sourced food and increasing their plant-based and meat free options. Off campus, NYU Berlin only utilizes trains and buses for student travel, hosting travel workshops every semester to encourage students to visit more train-accessible locations. NYU Berlin makes the program accessible to the community by inviting refugees and local high school and college students to join their day trips and extracurricular activities. In addition to reducing their carbon footprint, these trips allows students to deepen their cultural understanding, and fully appreciate Berlin’s diverse communities and perspectives.

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Lessons My Mother Taught Me

by Eni Owoeye


To “live sustainably” in the United States is to participate in an ever evolving campaign. Images of the stereotypical “greenie” – bike riders, DIY fanatics, and the quintessential vegan – have always existed in this landscape, and as technological advancements make our lives easier, we often find innovative ways to replace the status quo. Every year our cars get sleeker, and smaller, and ever more “green”.

But for many individuals, the status quo IS sustainable. Stewardship is a cultural norm. I’ve asked students and administrators across our campus to share lessons from their mother – knowledge preserved through space and time, a testament to the ingenuity and simplicity that can exist beyond contemporary eco-friendliness. Read more

Chief Sustainability Officer Cecil Scheib Testifies on Environmental Impact of Universities

Cecil Scheib before hearing committee“The intent of NYU’s sustainability program is to enhance our academic mission by providing comfortable and healthy spaces that enhance NYU’s excellence, while having the energy savings help pay for it – and we’ll achieve our carbon goals, too.”

– Cecil Scheib, Chief Sustainability Officer, NYU

Last week, Chief Sustainability Officer Cecil Scheib testified before members of the NYS Assembly Committees on Higher Education and Environmental Conservation to highlight NYU’s carbon emissions goals and efforts to engage our community in sustainability initiatives.

Read the full testimony here. 

Sustainability & Study Away: Takeaways and Tips!

Last week I sat on the EcoReps Sustainability Abroad panel and had a chance to think back about my time abroad in Sydney. Almost two years ago I wrote an exaggerated  “tell-all” Sustainablog post highlighting my first impressions of sustainability in Sydney. It was really interesting to look back and reflect on those impressions as I have continued to think about sustainability here in New York. Read more