The College of the Environment Dean’s office is committed to making our work practices as energy-efficient, low waste, and environmentally healthy as possible. We encourage you to make a commitment to sustainability as well. These resources are designed to help you green your own office, lab, or field site.

A Leaf
Image courtesy of Jon Sullivan

Green Certifications

The UW Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Office has developed certification programs to help guide you through the process of greening your workspace:

These programs also enable you to measure and benchmark your sustainability efforts and provide an opportunity for friendly competition through the annual Green Certification Awards, which are handed out at the UW Earth Day celebration every April.

Best Practices for Sustainability

As part of its sustainability efforts, the Dean’s office Green Team has developed two best practice guides for sustainability which may be of use to you.

  • The Office Sustainability Best Practices guide is designed for the typical UW office and offers sustainability tips for areas including energy, water, and carbon conservation, purchasing, transportation, and waste reduction.
  • The Sustainability Best Practices for Fieldwork guide was designed for researchers heading out into the field, with the idea of setting principles of sustainability that may hold across varying conditions.

Other Resources

  • UW Facilities has a comprehensive guide to disposing of things you no longer need, from aerosol cans to yogurt containers and everything in between.
  • Will you have food or drinks at your thesis defense or departmental seminar? Make sure your extra waste is disposed of in a timely and sustainable manner with UW Recycling’s Special Event Service.
  • Wondering what items in your lab are recyclable? UW Recycling has created a lab-specific recycling guide to help labs divert commonly used items from landfills.