Driven by our collective commitment.
United by global goals for a sustainable future.
As a public land-, sea- and space-grant institution, UNH has been dedicated to the public good for over 150 years. Sustainability, the collective commitment to human dignity for all people and ecological integrity in all places, is fundamental to the public good and is a core UNH value.
UNH is home to the oldest endowed sustainability program in the U.S. As we look to the future, we will act with courage to build powerful collaborations that can deepen UNH’s commitment to sustainability and enhance our contributions in our communities.
Our long-time commitment drives us today to bring diverse people and ideas together to make UNH a model sustainable learning community - reaching across and beyond campus to engage state, regional, national, and international partners to advance sustainable solutions, together.
Our Mission
The Sustainability Institute’s mission is to be a catalyst, convener, and champion of sustainability ideas and actions across and beyond the University of New Hampshire. We foster a culture of sustainability that permeates the civic, professional, and personal lives of members of our community. We embrace the notion of a “sustainable learning community”; a community in which everyone learns, and everyone and everything that we do teaches.
Our Work
We work together to advance sustainability across UNH and beyond:
- To encourage and support faculty and staff to advance sustainability in academics, research and operations
- To serve as the backbone organization for regional sustainability networks
- To engage students in sustainability through academics and experiential opportunities at the Sustainability Institute.
Sustainability Across UNH
Student Education
& Engagement
We’re top-rated for sustainability and committed to a better future – that’s why UNH is your place to make positive change. Explore UNH's hundreds of sustainability-related courses, nearly 40 related majors/minors and our Sustainability Institute – a gateway for all students to make impact on campus and in local communities through internships, fellowships, hands-on experiences and volunteering.
Campus
Initiatives
Sustainability is woven into everything we do – from how we operate our facilities and travel around the area, to the ways we grow and develop as a sustainable learning community and celebrate champions of sustainability on campus. We support staff and faculty and serve as a resource to advance sustainability in academics, research and operations.
Research
Our faculty and staff lead purpose-driven problem solving that addresses deep scientific questions and societal needs in collaboration with partners from across disciplines and sectors, thereby making collaborative scholarship the norm rather than the exception.
Task Forces & Committees
Faculty, staff and students from across campus also serve on critical sustainability-related task forces and committees –collaborating across fields, disciplines and sectors of society, working in creative and often unconventional ways. The Sustainability Task Force is the overarching coordinator, and it ensures that this work is guided by a shared vision.
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Sustainability Institute Team
Dr. Fiona Wilson
Chief Sustainability Officer, UNH
Executive Director, Sustainability Institute
Dr. Wilson is also an affiliate Clinical Associate Professor of Social Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability at the Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics. Fiona was previously a founder and Executive Director of UNH’s Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise, now the Changemaker Collaborative, which offers sustainability-related high-impact programs steeped in real-world experiential learning, with a mission to inspire, train and support the next generation of leaders with the confidence and competence to drive sustainable change in their careers.
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Professional Staff
We’re proud to be innovating for a world that works better for all, a prosperous economy, resilient infrastructure, and healthy, thriving ecosystems. Our work does not happen in separate silos, but rather as a unified, university-wide program that advances sustainability through explicitly linking campus operations, community impact, teaching and research.
Sustainable Learning Community Stories
Featuring our work and the work of our sustainable learning community across UNH – learn about the people, programs, events, initiatives and research behind our commitment to sustainability.
Recent Blog Posts
