As the world has turned more attention to the efforts against climate change, the Office of Sustainability at NYU has led a variety of initiatives to help improve the university’s environmental performance and introduce more sustainable practices on campus.

NYU has initiated a number of programs across campus to educate members of the community on eco-friendly practices and take proactive measures to reduce environmental mismanagement.

Various residence halls have launched the Sustainability Advocates Program along with the ECOrep program to encourage members of the NYU community to green their own departments by educating peers on sustainability practices.

Meanwhile, the ECOrep program engages students in residence halls through peer-to-peer education on sustainability topics. This academic year, 25 ECOreps have been elected to advocate for sustainable practices through activities within their residence halls including discussion on appropriate energy usage as well as waste and
water management.

Facilitator of the ECOrep program Cate Wright said many of the students who joined ECOreps did so in response to the perception that the school itself was being inactive about sustainable practices.

“I wish more of an emphasis for renewables, better waste options, and top of the line technology was being pursued by the heads of the school,”
Wright said.

Although administrators claim NYU is committed to becoming a leading institution for urban sustainability practices, some members of its community feel that it is rather inactive. Growing tensions between the university and the NYU Divest student group regarding the university’s investment in the fossil fuel industry are proof that the school has a lot of improvements to make.

NYU Divest member and CAS junior Olivia Rich said NYU needs policy changes to adequately address crises like climate change and the destruction of ecosystems.

“An institution committed to facts and learning, cannot call itself sustainable while continuing to invest in fossil fuel companies that use money to fund further extraction,” Rich said.

Another significant program started by the office is the Green Grant Program, designed to improve the university’s operational environmental performance, by providing funding up to $20,000 to projects coming out of the NYU community proposed by students, faculty or staff.

NYU Office of Sustainability Manager Nicolas Gordon said the office serves as a bridge between students and faculty who are coming up with initiatives for sustainability programs and need either funding or guidelines. Gordon added that the Office of Sustainability administers sustainability programs, but any member of the NYU community can make efforts toward making the university more eco-friendly.

“Green grants have funded a wide range of activities, such as an environmental journal coming soon out of Gallatin, an energy challenge competition that will take place at the School of Engineering, and many more,” Gordon said.

Green Grant has institutionalized a number of successful programs, one of which is BikeShare, a free bike share program that has been running since 2011. With more than 4,700 members registered, BikeShare operates with the goal of reducing pollution by providing free bikes to use for an entire day from 14 locations across campus, including one in Brooklyn.

Last month, NYU was one of more than 200 universities across the country to sign a pledge showing their commitment to action against climate change. The pledge is directed towards world leaders who are currently in Paris for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Dec. 7 print version. Email Ludovica Grieco at [email protected].