Sustainability

Maggie Sobaszek ’16, ’18 is an assessment coordinator in the Office of Sustainability and is responsible for evaluations and reports relating to campus sustainability. Recently, she helped finish STARS, a self-reporting assessment for higher education institutions to measure their sustainability performance. Learn more about Sobaszek in this Q&A.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? 

Mark Mistretta is a second-year junior majoring in biology and interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in health and medical humanities. He founded UNC Charlotte’s Plants for People student organization and was nominated by the University for a 2023 Sustain Charlotte Award. Learn more about Mistretta and his sustainability work in this Q&A. Why did you choose UNC Charlotte?

UNC Charlotte loses an average of three football fields of trees per day, through storm damage, disease or construction.

Trees are important to the environment and absorb greenhouse gasses, help improve mental health, house wildlife and cool urban areas in addition to making the campus and city look better.

UNC Charlotte loses an average of three football fields of trees per day, through storm damage, disease or construction.

Trees are important to the environment and absorb greenhouse gasses, help improve mental health, house wildlife and cool urban areas in addition to making the campus and city look better.

If you Googled “beautiful streams,” you’d find a plethora of cinematic, artistic shots of water gracefully flowing over the rocks. If you Googled “Toby Creek,” you may find something completely different. 

Streams aren’t meant to just be beautiful for a quick social media picture. They play a key role in the environment. Toby Creek, located in the University area, is a valuable asset to UNC Charlotte and the surrounding community. However, it’s been long overdue for improvements. 

UNC Charlotte again is on Princeton Review’s “Guide to Green Colleges,” an annual publication that recognizes academic institutions’ sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. The University is one of 455 colleges included in the 2023 edition.

This year’s Campus Sustainability Week is Oct. 2-8. This annual observance engages the University community in sustainable practices on campus through events and volunteer opportunities.

The Charlotte Green Initiative student committee selected 24 projects for funding this past academic year. CGI allocates funds from the University’s Student Green Fee, which is supported by full-time students. The committee recently concluded its 13th academic year of evaluating proposals that could make the campus more efficient, eco-friendly and healthy, and funded several significant projects during the 2021-22 academic year:

University departments and student organizations held numerous successful events during March and April to celebrate Earth Month. The Office of Sustainability co-hosted three outdoor events that drew 237 mostly student volunteers. 

Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber reaffirmed the University’s commitment to climate action by re-signing the Carbon Commitment, one of the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments maintained by Second Nature. The Carbon Commitment was first signed in 2009 by Chancellor Emeritus Philip L. Dubois.