Tanja Srebotnjak and Jason Moran When Tanja Srebotnjak, Director of the Zilkha Center for the Environment, took the Log Lunch stage with Jason Moran, Assistant Director of Energy and Utilities, to speak on Williams’ decarbonization journey, she opened with some words of sage advice: “the journey is… Continue reading »
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend and present at Greenbuild 2025, which bills itself as the world’s largest conference and exposition for green building professionals. According to public figures, approximately 15,000 sustainability building design, construction and related professionals gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center… Continue reading »
At its June 2025 meeting, the Trustees supported the alignment of the Energy & Carbon Master Plan (ECMP) with the ongoing capital planning studies for Athletics and Wellbeing facilities, Residence Hall renewal, Dining Services improvements and Lawrence Hall renewal. The revised ECMP focuses on building energy efficiency, conservation and demand… Continue reading »
The College plans to incur $106 million in debt over the next decade to finance its Energy and Carbon Master Plan, which seeks to reduce campus emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Provost Eiko Siniawer and Vice President for Finance and Operations Mike Wagner… Continue reading »
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting to determine an organization’s annual net emissions is a reasonably complicated undertaking, not to mention reducing said emissions to stabilize the climate. Williams College announced in 2015 that it aims to be carbon neutral by 2020. It has maintained this claim… Continue reading »
In 2023 the college began to arbitrage its Farmington, Maine solar PV renewable energy certificates (RECs) with Green-e certified solar PV RECs from dirtier grid regions (you can read more about this program on the Zilkha Center’s webpage). An integral part of the… Continue reading »
In mid-March, the Class of 1966 Environmental Center achieved Living Building certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), becoming just the 34th building in the world to achieve full living certification. The terraced steps in… Continue reading »
The Zilkha Center recently completed the annual report on the college’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The inventory covers the most recent fiscal year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) and includes emissions from energy use on campus and by college-owned vehicles, electricity consumption, refrigerant and fertilizer use, waste… Continue reading »
At its June 2023 Board meeting, the Trustees of Williams College endorsed the college’s new Sustainable Building Policy. The policy continues Williams’ history of integrating its sustainability values and goals into building projects while updating the policy to expand the breadth and rigor of green building design principles. … Continue reading »
The conclusion of the 2020 Sustainability Goals and the finalization of the 2021 Strategic Plan provided the impetus to review the college’s progress in reducing its emissions and develop new goals and strategies that align with institutional priorities and the need to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading »
Update on Energy and Carbon Master Plan In the fall of 2021 the college initiated the development of a comprehensive energy plan that provides a pathway for substantially reducing our campus greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the next 10-15 years. Dubbed the Energy and Carbon Master Plan (ECMP),… Continue reading »
Zero Waste Action Plan Update The Zero Waste Action Planning Group, which is led by the Zilkha Center and includes both stakeholders from across campus who engage with waste, surplus, and procurement and student representatives, continues to refine the action steps necessary to meet the waste-related goals set… Continue reading »
By Mike Evans & Tanja Srebotnjak At the end of April, President Mandel shared the near-final draft of the college’s strategic plan. As you may have seen, the plan provides a high level summary of the commitments proposed in the strategic planning report… Continue reading »