Sustainability
Learn. Lead. Conserve.
The University of Dayton is a leader in sustainability efforts, and we're committed to making the world a better place — for everyone.
Our work toward a more sustainable world crosses disciplines, programs and divisions.
- Through our Hanley Sustainability Institute, we developed innovative, transdisciplinary projects that have made a visible, positive impact on the campus and surrounding community.
- Dining Services runs one of the largest food-composting program in the nation.
- The Green Revolving Fund invests money into projects that promote environmental stewardship.
Sustainability Overview
Our majors and minors in sustainability encourage undergraduates to explore sustainability with an interdisciplinary approach.
We also offer a graduate certificate in sustainability, and our master's program in renewable and clean energy engineering attracts the best and brightest from around the globe.
Sustainability scholars across campus study various aspects of sustainability, including climate change, renewable and alternative energy, public policy, energy-efficient design and lean construction, the environment, food systems, religious practices and more.
A fair trade university, UD is part of the U.N. Global Compact, the Global Catholic Climate Movement, Second Nature's Resilience Commitment, Second Nature's Carbon Commitment and "We're Still In."
Gold STAR
Earned a gold STARS rating for our sustainability achievements
Top 30
Named a "cool school" by Sierra Magazine for our sustainability efforts
Top 10
Ranked top 10 for research and purchasing by the 2020 sustainable campus index
Flowers & Power
The front lawn of Daniel J. Curran Place is a living laboratory dedicated to sustainability. The solar prairie includes 81 types of annual and perennial plants and 2,805 single-access tracking solar panels.
Sustainability Research
Jet Fuel From Junk
The world is one step closer to turning wet waste into a sustainable aviation fuel, thanks to work by UD researchers who are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Lab.
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Climate Change and the Arctic Sea
A study co-published by University of Dayton physicist Ivan Sudakov offers a model to better predict the effects of climate change on Arctic sea ice, which could improve climate models for predicting ice loss in the Arctic.
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Water Towers: Roles and Woes
Environmental geologist Umesh Haritashya is one of 32 international scientists who contributed to research published in Nature that assessed and ranked glacier-based water systems, known as water towers, in order of their importance and vulnerability.
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