Each May, Brown’s Office of Sustainability and Resiliency gathers a wide range of donated items from students moving out of residence halls to donate to organizations in and around Providence.

With a pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, data from three test-wells will determine if conversion to a geothermal energy system can provide a renewable approach to heating campus buildings.

As the University works toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, decreasing air and noise pollution is part of Brown’s broader commitment to sustainability.

Kim Cobb, a Brown University professor and director of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, spoke about the need to act on climate change, urging that action must be taken collaboratively and equitably.

President Christina H. Paxson wrote to the campus community on March 4 with an update on Brown’s efforts to confront climate change through net-zero GHG initiatives, halting investments in fossil fuel extraction in the University’s endowment and other efforts.

The goal to eliminate campus greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades includes taking immediate steps to reduce emissions by 75 percent below 2017-18 levels by 2025.

A new Brown initiative with Constellation and Energy Development Partners will transform a former gravel pit in North Kingstown into Rhode Island’s highest-capacity contiguous solar generation project.

With the University nearing its sustainability goals for 2020 and the threat of climate change growing more severe, Brown is evaluating plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero.