In 2015 The University of Texas at Arlington announced a strengthened commitment to creating sustainable urban communities through its new Institute for Sustainability and Global Impact. The move was aligned with the University’s Strategic Plan 2020, which aims to enhance quality of life by developing more sustainable communities that focus on the natural, built, economic, cultural and social environments. It also unifies and integrates environmental improvement approaches across campus. The Institute’s mission for addressing the challenges of sustainability builds upon four cornerstones of Education and Outreach, Strategic Planning, Research, and Operations.
“Our sustainability initiatives are essential for us to use our resources in ways that benefit our vital work without compromising those resources for future generations.”
Institutions of higher education play a pivotal role in transforming the lives of individuals and enhancing the community. Here at UT Arlington, we often talk about being in the business of enhancing quality of life. The knowledge we cultivate, the real-world application of our innovative research, and our emphasis on community service deliver clear benefits to individuals, communities, and society at large.
Growth brings challenges in managing our environmental footprint and use of resources. Our growth highlights even more why we strive to be a leader in campus sustainability. The success of sustainability initiatives requires engagement, participation, and collaboration at all levels of the university, across campus and beyond. We are making great progress within the institution and through partnerships with communities, businesses, government, and other higher education sectors.
As we look to the future, the four themes of our Strategic Plan 2020 demonstrate how faculty and students are tackling some of society’s greatest challenges and developing innovative solutions in areas of human health, natural and social environments, and data discovery.
Our new online sustainability report is an effort to spread the message about UT Arlington’s commitment to sustainability, and hope that our leadership and accomplishment towards sustainability will serve as an example for other educational institutions.