Creating a community of sustainability, together.
At Temple University, we are committed to building an eco-friendly tomorrow by identifying, examining and addressing the climate crisis—at home and across the globe. With the creativity, innovation, research and support of our vibrant student body, faculty and Office of Sustainability, Temple is leading the charge and changing the environmental landscape of urban institutions by working to create sustainable solutions for our community and beyond. Together, we aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
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Stewarding change through action.
Temple’s Office of Sustainability is responsible for assessing the university’s environmental and cultural efforts and recommending tangible best practices for short- and long-term actions that promote environmental responsibility and pursue sustainable outcomes.
To reach our goals, the Office of Sustainability has outlined three main objectives.
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Execute the university’s Climate Action Plan as a climate change leader.
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Develop policies that promote and support environmental best practices.
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Create, implement and manage programs and events that advance climate action and environmental justice.
Learn more about the goals, initiatives, projects and teams that impact Temple’s journey to a sustainable future.
Championing sustainability as a student.
Sustainability is an individual journey toward a common goal. And at Temple, students can find their own path to enact change. See how these students are impacting sustainability efforts at Temple, in the surrounding community and beyond.
Lauren Jacob
Public health major, director of sustainability, Temple Student Government
As the director of sustainability for Temple Student Government, Lauren Jacob utilizes her skills and passion for sustainability to work towards improving Temple’s environmental impact. “I’m looking into more ways to be more sustainable individually and on the university level. I am always open to hear suggestions from students about changes to make Temple more green. I want to help lower our carbon footprint and divest from fossil fuels eventually!”
Kelley Simon
Geography/urban studies major, transportation and GIS EcoLead, student lead on tree inventory
Kelley Simon developed geographic information system maps that help inform data-driven approaches to sustainable investments on campus. “To me, sustainability means changing our society’s idea of success from endless growth and consumerism to a more ecocentric view with more transparency and accountability on our resource use and the life cycle of products.”
Maggie Roseto
Peer leader for Climate Café at Temple
Maggie Roseto helped lead the charge to implement Temple’s Climate Café, a supportive space where students approach climate grief and eco anxiety by expressing how climate and ecological breakdown makes them feel. “A lot of us feel we are carrying a great weight, wanting so badly to slow the rapid destruction of the planet we love and inhabit. Climate Café acts as a space for people to put the load down for a second, take care of themselves and be well.”
Zimri T. Hinshaw
CEO and founder of BUCHA BIO
The business Zimri T. Hinshaw created as a Temple student began in a pungent pool of fermenting kombucha in his apartment. Now, his company, BUCHA BIO, is producing biomaterials that could inspire a new wave of sustainable design. By taking a concept started at Temple and bringing it to fruition, Hinshaw exemplifies how students can transform their ideas into big sustainability initiatives that make a global impact.
Connecting through shared interests.
In addition to getting involved in sustainability initiatives through the Office of Sustainability and academic routes, there are student organizations that also value sustainability and climate action. Discover a few of the organizations you can join below or explore the full list by visiting Temple’s Owl Connect page.
Learning in an engaged environment.
At Temple, classrooms and learning spaces serve as incubators for ideas on how to tackle the climate crisis. Sustainability-focused programs and courses are available across the university; students interested in expanding their knowledge on this topic can enroll and examine sustainability and the climate crisis through various lenses.
Explore some of the programs and courses at Temple that will broaden the horizons of students seeking to make a difference in this arena.
TUScholarShare:
Research for a better future
The Office of Sustainability, together with Temple University Libraries, collaborated to establish the Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Justice collection in the TUScholarShare repository. TUScholarShare is a service that shares, promotes and archives a wide range of scholarly work and makes Temple scholarship freely available online to a global audience. Our Environmental Justice collection includes articles, books, data sets, research, teaching and learning materials, and working papers that have been authored by researchers, staff and students at Temple University.
Learn more about TUScholarShare.