Top 10 Things You Should Know About Sustainable CWRU
Case Western Reserve University has been working hard to make the campus a greener place to live and work. Here are our top ten bragging points:
1. CWRU is aiming to be climate neutral, a big hairy audacious goal and we have a Climate Action Plan guiding our way.
2. The campus recycled over 693 tons of material in 2024—the equivalent of 99 elephants!
3. CWRU has been on Princeton Review's Green Guide to Universities for over a decade.
4. There are more than 165 water bottle filling stations on campus—4.9 million bottles saved as of the Spring 2024—and more are added each year.
5. There are over 160 bike racks on campus and every res hall has an indoor bike room.
6. The 100 kW wind turbine outside of Veale and the 60 kW solar array on top of the Adelbert Gym building produce approximately the same amount of energy each year.
7. The university spends over $20 million each year on utilities that keep the lights on, heat and cool or buildings, run lab equipment, etc. Students and employees can truly can help reduce this spending and energy use by doing simple things like turning off lights and equipment when leaving the room.
8. Food waste from all campus kitchens and both student dining halls are sent to the Univeristy Farm to be composted. In 2024, the Farm created over 154 tons of finished compost using a combination of this food waste and woodchips.
9. By eating at the Bon Appetit dining halls and restaurants, our campus supports local farmers and food producers. Bon Appetit buys a standard minimum 20% of our campus food the local food economy (within 150 miles)—which is good for the environment and good for local jobs.
10. The University has been a part of Arbor Day’s Tree Campus program since 2017