The Office of Sustainability was created in 2007 with the charge of integrating sustainability values and practices into:

• strategic planning processes
• operations and resource management
• overall university practices

The Office of Sustainability worked with students, faculty, and staff to develop the university’s first Strategic Plan for Sustainable Operations, adopted in 2010. The overarching goal of the plan is that the university will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020 without purchasing carbon offsets.

In January 2009, WUSTL became the first university in the country to ban the sale and use of bottled water in its administrative offices, dining services and vending machines, due to concerns about the environmental impact of plastic bottles.

The university also recently launched Land Lab, an on-going project that seeks to find innovative ideas for sustainable projects on the city’s vacant properties. Teams have proposed integrated strategies for transforming one of the region’s greatest challenges into an asset that advances sustainability. Winners of the public competition will be announced in April 2013.