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, and the University earned a gold STARS rating for our sustainability achievements.
- 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."
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
Arctic Algae
The National Science Foundation awarded two UD researchers a three-year, $201,655 grant to predict the growth and movement of large algae blooms in the Arctic Ocean, related to that region's warming climate. The interdisciplinary project combines artificial intelligence, theoretical physics and biology.
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Glacial Findings
Environmental geologist Umesh Haritashya recently published two separate studies -- one on melting glaciers, and one on the 2021 Himalayan Landslide -- that provides critical insights on disaster governance, sustainable development and other issues.
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Waste Not, Want Not
The world is one step closer to turning waste into sustainable aviation fuel, thanks to research by Josh Heyne, national expert on sustainable aviation fuel, and graduate student Zhibin Yang.
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