The University of Michigan is marking more than 150 years of sustainability leadership with the release of a synthesis report that outlines decades of progress, embeds sustainability into daily campus life, and charts a bold path forward in academics, operations, research and health care.
Drawing on past institutional reports and interviews with faculty, staff and student sustainability leaders, “A History of Action, A Foundation for Change: 150 Years of Sustainability at the University of Michigan” brings together the many threads of sustainability and climate action woven across U-M, past and present, and offers a shared foundation for the future.
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Rooted in community contributions and collective values, it is both a record of what’s come before and an invitation to help shape what comes next.
“This report is both a reflection and a call to action,” said President Domenico Grasso. “We are building on U-M’s long-standing leadership to address the most pressing environmental, health and social challenges of our time — together, and at scale.”
The report helps build the foundation for the next era of implementation, guided by a new leadership model and aligned with U-M’s long-term strategic vision. It calls for coordinated action, connecting academic, operational, research, and health care efforts with community engagement. Climate Action, Sustainability & Environmental Equity is one of five impact areas for the university’s Look to Michigan initiative.
The report was released in conjunction with the university’s inaugural Climate Week, scheduled for Sept. 27-Oct. 5. Events and programming invite the broader campus community to engage with the report’s themes and explore how they can contribute to the university’s sustainability mission.
New executive leadership structure
Formed in January 2025, the Sustainability and Climate Executive Leadership Council is among the first cross-campus leadership structures of its kind at a public university. The council brings together senior leaders from operations, academics, research and health care to align strategy, foster collaboration and coordinate action across all three campuses and Michigan Medicine.
The council is committed to growing momentum in implementing climate action and sustainability priorities over the next year, ensuring that progress accelerates across the university.
Serving as the university’s principal sustainability leaders, Shana Weber, associate vice president for campus sustainability; Shalanda Baker, vice provost for sustainability and climate action; and Tony Denton, senior vice president and chief environmental, social and governance officer for Michigan Medicine, are charged with providing a vision, support and resources to advance U-M’s efforts in sustainability, climate action and environmental equity.
The council represents coordinated action across energy systems, health care delivery, academic programs and initiatives such as Look to Michigan and Campus Plan 2050.
By connecting the university’s vast research enterprise — which includes hundreds of faculty, staff and students developing climate solutions in fields like engineering, public health, and design — with operational practices and community partnerships, the council aims to advance a local and regional living and learning laboratory approach to problem-solving as a meaningful driver for much broader impact.
More than a new leadership structure, it is a reimagining of how U-M lives its values and fulfills its public mission. By aligning efforts across operations, research, academics and health care, the council is building a stronger, more resilient university, envisioning a new standard for large institutions.
“This next chapter is about turning strong foundations into shared impact,” Weber said. “We’re building on more than a century of leadership and laying the groundwork for what comes next and that work belongs to everyone.”
Progress and opportunities
The report highlights both longstanding leadership and recent progress across the university, including:
- Michigan Medicine reduced emissions from inhaled anesthetics by 88% in two years, surpassing its 80% target three years ahead of schedule.
- The launch of the Leinweber Computer Science and Information Building, U-M’s first all-electric academic facility, heated and cooled by ground source heat pumps and geo-exchange.
- Expanding the Maize Rays campus solar program, the university will add over 25 megawatts of renewable capacity over three years, equivalent to powering more than 3,000 homes a year.
- Research innovations and partnerships, such as cleaner aviation technologies, wave energy, and the MI CARES study on environmental health, which demonstrate how U-M research translates into scalable solutions with real-world impact.
- Community partnerships from medical supply reallocation to river restoration in Flint.
- U-M’s deep history in environmental justice and community engaged scholarship.
- More than 800 sustainability-related courses are now offered across U-M, engaging over 700 faculty in teaching and research that prepare students to address climate challenges across disciplines.
- The Graham Sustainability Institute’s Catalyst Grants fund faculty across all three campuses to advance applied research on urgent challenges such as climate resilience, sustainable food systems, and environmental justice.
“Michigan Medicine’s progress shows the impact we can have when sustainability is included in our strategic decisions as an enterprise, and daily practices at a local unit level,” Denton said. “Through the leadership council, we can take that same commitment and connect it with efforts across academics, operations, and research to deliver results at scale.”
Spotlights in the report also highlight how U-M is serving as a living and learning laboratory, embedding sustainability research and action into daily life across campuses, clinics, classrooms and communities. Student leadership shines through initiatives like the Student Sustainability Coalition and Crocheting for Conservation. Food systems innovation is evident at the Campus Farm and in MDining’s commitment to 55% plant-based meals.
Michigan Medicine is advancing sustainable health care through programs such as medical plastics recycling, while athletics and operations are modeling scalable solutions through Zero Waste Gamedays. Community-centered partnerships, from Flint River restoration to Detroit-based Food Literacy for All, demonstrate how U-M leverages its scale and expertise to co-create resilience and equity with the communities it serves.
Academic and research leadership is also central to U-M’s progress. At the U-M Biological Station, faculty and students are drawing on more than a century of ecological and climate data to understand biodiversity loss, invasive species, and the long-term impacts of climate change.
Faculty across disciplines are broadening climate literacy through the “Make Climate a Class” initiative, which weaves climate content into courses ranging from engineering to the arts. And through MI Hydrogen, U-M researchers are partnering with industry and policymakers to advance a clean, equitable hydrogen economy with global relevance.
U-M’s sustainability research and teaching enterprise spans hundreds of courses and projects, generating breakthrough discoveries, informing global climate policy and preparing the next generation of leaders to meet the challenges ahead. Faculty and students collaborate on research that blends academic discovery with experiential learning, advancing knowledge while training sustainability leaders.
Looking ahead
The university is accelerating implementation efforts and strengthening collaboration across all campuses, ensuring sustainability work is connected, measurable and aligned with U-M’s goals toward carbon neutrality, regenerative systems, environmental equity, and wellbeing.
Key priorities include expanding renewable energy projects and improving energy efficiency in campus operations, advancing sustainability-focused research and curricula across academic disciplines while accelerating and measuring real-world impact, and integrating sustainable practices into health care and clinical operations.
Students and faculty will continue to play a central role, participating in co-creating the campus as a living and learning laboratory and interdisciplinary research that translates climate and sustainability solutions into real-world impacts.
“The report gives us a roadmap for turning our sustainability efforts into measurable, coordinated impact across operations, academics, and health care,” Baker said. “It shows how we can work together to accelerate progress and create solutions that extend beyond campus.”
