UPDATED 5/13/21 For the past year plus, staff and faculty across the college have been working on the innumerable pivots necessary to ensure that the college could still operate. The Zilkha Center has been working with our colleagues to support sustainable operations and has also been… Continue reading »
While we can’t welcome families to campus in person this year, we are excited to share an update about sustainability at Williams with you from afar! Find more resources for engaging with campus sustainability at Williams here: Self-guided audio tour for Environmental Center… Continue reading »
The momentum of the push to finalize the strategic plan was slowed due to COVID-19, but the Zilkha Center has been working with the Provost and colleagues across campus to continue to advance innovative sustainability solutions. We are beginning to lay the groundwork for more specific and detailed… Continue reading »
In 2015, President Falk and the Board of Trustees committed to reducing ghg emissions and achieving carbon neutrality by the end of 2020. During our most recent emissions check-in – the 2019 fiscal year (FY19) emissions report –… Continue reading »
The Zilkha Center and the Office of Planning Design & Construction (PD&C) collaborate to pursue sustainability projects campus-wide. As part of the sustainability commitments set in 2015 by President Adam Falk, the College continues to commit resources to on-campus emission reduction projects… Continue reading »
Summer interns in the Zilkha Center have the opportunity to focus on a wide range of sustainability projects that impact our campus community. While interns with the Zilkha Center carry out specific projects, they are encouraged to be creative in addressing the challenges posed in the internship and… Continue reading »
Each summer, the Zilkha Center hires about 8 or so interns in the following fields; Communications, Gardening & Outreach, Artist-in-Residence, Farmington Solar Facility, Sustainability Consultant/Green Offices, Sustainable Food, Sustainable Transportation, Sustainability in Strategic Planning, Or, Submit Your Own Idea!… Continue reading »
Last year, Williams along with Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, and Bowdoin announced that they would collaborate in a purchase and development of a solar electricity site, the NEC Renewable Partnership. The site found its location in Farmington, Maine on land that used to operate as a… Continue reading »
This January, six students embarked on an audio storytelling journey. In three weeks, they were charged with learning a ton about campus sustainability at Williams, choosing two interesting topics, interviewing people both on and off-campus to learn more, and creating two short and compelling audio stories/podcast… Continue reading »
In the summer of 2016, three students dove into the world of emissions reduction possibilities on the Williams campus guided by Professor Sarah Jacobson. The goal was to think through options both large and small in order to provide data for larger, cross-campus discussions where many stakeholders would come… Continue reading »
Here are a few of the items of note from our Emissions Report for the 2017 fiscal year As of the end of FY17 (June 30), Williams is approximately 46% of the way toward reaching our current greenhouse gas emissions goal of 35% below 1990’s level by 2020. Between 1990… Continue reading »
I just can’t seem to stay away from Amherst (really, the Pioneer Valley more broadly), and it’s not the wider range of restaurants and good coffee that are drawing me there. I’m recently taken my second work-related trip to the Pioneer Valley in as many weeks. Williams, Amherst, Smith, Hampshire… Continue reading »
How should we reduce greenhouse gas emissions? That seems like a pretty simple question on the surface, but dig down and things get complicated quickly. Williams has emissions reduction goals – 35% below 1990 levels by 2020, then carbon neutrality (through the purchase of carbon offsets) by the end of 2020. Continue reading »
You may have heard about “The Wedge Exercise.” Here’s an opportunity for you to try it out yourself. The quick overview: Each activity at Williams College can be represented by a little slice – or wedge – of the total emissions on a pie chart or a graph. What combination… Continue reading »
Williams, Amherst, Smith, Hampshire (and sometimes UMass Amherst) are working on several joint projects – we’re hoping to amplify our impact, and we help keep each other sane and on track. One project we’re calling the Community Climate Fund. (Read more about it here.) The other is related… Continue reading »
In September of 2015, President Adam Falk and the Board of Trustees announced that the College would achieve carbon neutrality by the end of 2020, first by reducing energy use and investing in renewable energy, and then by purchasing offsets to account for the remainder of our carbon footprint. Many… Continue reading »
About three times a day, we make choices about not only what we want to make part of our bodies but also the kind of impact we want to have on the environment. For our planet, the difference between the Standard American Diet and a vegetarian diet is… Continue reading »
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