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Mission

Policies

Working and learning in a physical environment inspired by one of the nation's most renowned architectural and social innovators, the University of Virginia community has a strong commitment to the tenets and practices of sustainability. A sense of personal and corporate responsibility at all levels has produced diverse activities designed to address climate change and environmental deterioration here and around the globe. We believe that our success lies in our integrated approach. While the University requires each unit to include measurable sustainability objectives among the critical functions in its annual reporting cycle, we also allow the freedom and flexibility for initiatives and ideas to flow from individual students, faculty and employees.

This Web site is a portal intended to assist the University community and others to visualize how U.Va. demonstrates its leadership in sustainability. By any measure, we are leaders in energy and water conservation, stormwater managements, recycling, and transportation. Our new 2008 Grounds Plan will promote progressively higher standards for sustainable planning and design, providing flexibility in achieving sustainability goals over the next decades. At the same time, we are using tools such as the SPeAR™ to continuously assess our activities in the areas of natural resources, environment, social, and economic. Through our commitment to SPeAR™ and other tools we will advance sustainability initiatives within our institution, taking into account what successes we have achieved and what challenges remain.

As a center of learning and a research institution envisioned by Thomas Jefferson as illustrating the "illimitable freedom of the human mind," we recognize the need to lead by example. The University of Virginia is committed to providing all members of our community – especially our students, who represent the leaders of tomorrow – with the knowledge and tools necessary to address the environmental challenges facing us today.