Office of Sustainability

The Office of Sustainability provides a strategic home for sustainability initiatives at the George Washington University that are implemented in partnership with stakeholders across the organization. George Washington University seeks to engage the world by exploring the important issues of our time including policy and governance for sustainability with a vision to create resource systems that are healthy and thriving for all. Through efforts underway in operations, teaching, research, and outreach, the university is committed to being a model of sustainability. 

  
History 
The Office of Sustainability opened in January 2009, following the completion of the Task Force Report on Sustainability. The Task Force, convened by President Knapp upon his arrival at the university, provided a series of recommendations on sustainability to the university, creating an Office of Sustainability was one of their top priority areas. The office provides a strategic home for sustainability initiatives on campus, and works in partnership with many stakeholders on campus to advance our work.

Initiatives
In 2018, student leaders launched a pilot compost program that has since become a fixture on campus.  GW Compost's Friday collections allow students to divert food waste from the landfill and learn about composting.

In 2020, GW committed to eliminating single-use plastic from campus.  Learn more about the efforts to make plastic a thing of the past at go.gwu.edu/pastplastic.