Campus Sustainability

DREW It In The Dark!

Residence halls compete in the fall to show how much they #LoveTheForest by saving energy during the competition period. The more energy saved, the more you show your Love for The Forest! Why? Less energy means less fossil fuels are burned and less carbon emissions in the atmosphere to degrade our climate.

• During the competition LIVE building rankings can be viewed on Drew’s Energy Storyboard or by clicking on “Energy” from Treehouse.

Campus Initiatives

Did you know that Drew University has completed 5 building lighting retrofits that have reduced carbon emissions equivalent to planting 181 acres of forest?

Efforts are made every day to become a more sustainable university from the way buildings are designed to the dining services for students. The university has also done tremendous work to develop a Climate Action Plan to reach climate neutrality by 2035, pursuant to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

From a Native Tree Policy to Environmentally Responsible Building Guidelines, Drew’s Sustainability Policies ensure a sustainable campus.

Drew University is dedicated to forest restoration efforts on campus and was a recipient of the NJ Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award. The forest and arboretum on campus is being restored and students are assessing the progress throughout the years.  Students have coordinated Fern Fest for 16 years, and the campus comes together to replace a large patch of lawn from the center of campus with native ferns and wildflowers. A meadow was established in the summer of 2012 with the help of student and staff volunteers.

Academics & Research

Drew University is not only devoted to creating a sustainable campus, it is also committed to providing top sustainability education. The Environmental Studies & Sustainability (ESS) Program offers students the opportunity to major or minor in a degree program studying real-world global issues and coming up with solutions.

Faculty throughout all three schools at Drew focus on courses related to sustainability education. See attached list..

Additionally, many of our Civic Scholar students are focused on sustainability in their community engagement work.  Drew Civic Scholars can be any major, sharing in the goals of connecting to community, giving back and using their education to help make our world a better place.  For more information on the Center for Civic Engagement and the Civic Scholars program, click the link to their web page.