Sustainability Institute

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About the Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations

   Who we are

UW Oshkosh is committed to sustainability. In 2018, the university founded the Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations to encourage and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration across our campuses and between our university and our community. We do this by supporting sustainability research and projects that bring together faculty, students, and community partners; supporting sustainability education across our campuses and beyond; hosting events campus and communities; and working to enhance on-campus sustainability  in areas like energy, waste, grounds, and more.

Our commitment to diverse visions of sustainability is conveyed through our mission statement: to engage stakeholders from Wisconsin and beyond to build healthy communities, inclusive economies, and ecologically sound environments through inquiry, education and action

  Generate

The Institute generates new ideas, advancing knowledge by engaging faculty, staff, and students in scholarly and creative activities exploring the theory, practice, and applications of sustainability. Through development of technologies and collaborative partnerships, we work to advance research and deliver applied educational experiences as well as develop revenue streams that support the mission of SIRT.

  Educate

Members of the Institute educate and learn from its many stakeholders so that a deep understanding of the multiple dimensions of sustainability emerges that informs the transition to a durable world. These efforts engage students, teachers, professionals, practitioners, and other community members to cultivate advocacy, leadership, responsibility, and skills through degree, certificate, and short-term programs. SIRT highlights examples of sustainability from local, regional and international communities and collaborators.

Inspire

The Institute inspires critical thinking about the emergence of the sustainability concept, what it means, and how it can be (and has been) actualized and implemented. This includes creating public conversations and cultural activities that foster questioning, celebration, advocacy, and the advancement of interdisciplinary understanding of the challenges to sustainability.

Support

Members of the Institute support the practice of sustainability locally, regionally, and internationally. SIRT is a public space and resource where faculty, staff and students collaborate with community members and civic groups, governments, organizations, and businesses on sustainability-related projects by opening dialogues, providing access to skills and technologies, education, and outreach, and identifying and securing financial and material resources.

  History of Sustainability at UWO

In 2002, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh signed the Earth Charter, thereby pledging to pursue a course of sustainability.  For UW Oshkosh, this pledge means infusing sustainability in all that it does from academics to student affairs, research, service, outreach, facilities operations and management, and administration.

Building on this pledge, UW Oshkosh signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2007, which obligates campuses to strive for climate neutrality by mid-century or sooner.

The following year the campus adopted its first sustainability plan which was updated in 2014.  

Like many other colleges & universities across the world, we use STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System), created by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), to assess and report sustainability data and progress. The campus registered as a charter member in August 2010 and has had a Gold rating since 2013. Read the UW Oshkosh STARS report to learn more.

Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations

 

UW Oshkosh
800 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI 54901

Contact Info:

(920) 424-0440
SIRT Office: 4483 Sage Hall
 

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