4 Strategies to Advance Campus Sustainability in 2025
By Will Crawford III, Environmental, Social, and Governance Director, Follett Higher Education
Sustainability is no longer a choice—it’s a necessity. Colleges and universities are leading the charge to reduce their environmental impact while meeting increasing demands from students, faculty, and governing bodies. Follett is proud to support these efforts through innovative partnerships, including our work with Greenplaces and Oscar by IntuitiveAI. Together, we’re helping institutions turn ambitious sustainability goals into actionable progress.
Here are four actionable strategies to help your campus advance sustainability in 2025 and beyond:
Why It Matters:
Understanding your campus’s carbon footprint is critical to creating a roadmap for sustainability. By measuring emissions from energy use, waste, and transportation, colleges can identify high-impact areas for improvement and make meaningful changes.
Follett Sustainability Platform Powered by Greenplaces:
This innovative tool provides campuses with a streamlined way to calculate emissions, track progress, and identify actionable opportunities to reduce environmental impact. Greenplaces combines advanced technology with sustainability expertise, helping institutions manage the complexities of emissions reporting and implement effective reduction strategies.
Campus Success Story:
Catawba College: Achieved carbon neutrality seven years ahead of its 2030 target by installing 170 kilowatts of solar panels, a geothermal system, and implementing food waste composting. These initiatives earned recognition in the 2025 Guide to Green Colleges.
What You Can Do:
• Conduct a campus-wide emissions audit to establish a baseline.
• Prioritize quick wins like energy-efficient lighting and renewable energy installations.
• Share progress transparently to build accountability and inspire engagement among stakeholders.
Why It Matters:
Printed textbooks carry a significant environmental cost. Switching to digital course materials reduces emissions and waste while enhancing accessibility and affordability for students.
Campus Success Stories:
University of Miami: Offset nearly 4 metric tons of CO₂e emissions last year by increasing digital textbooks adoptions reducing the overall usage of printed textbooks by more than 1,500 units.
University of the Incarnate Word: Reduced annual shipping by 1,200 packages while improving student outcomes through a digital-first approach.
What You Can Do:
• Partner with providers to deliver digital-first solutions.
• Align courses with digital resources in collaboration with faculty.
• Track and share metrics to highlight the program’s benefits.
Why It Matters:
Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges globally. Reducing single-use plastics on campus is a straightforward yet impactful step toward sustainability.
How Follett and Our Partners Are Making a Difference:
• Coca-Cola: Offers products in infinitely recyclable aluminum bottles and cans, along with bottles made from 100% recycled PET plastic.
• Stanley: Uses recycled stainless steel in at least 50% of its products and sustainable packaging.
• Hydro Flask: Runs the #RefillForGood campaign and a trade-in program where old bottles are recycled into new products.
• Owala and Hydrojug: Promote reusable drinkware with long-lasting designs and replacement parts to reduce waste.
• Simple Modern: Donates 10% of profits to nonprofit partners and uses 100% recycled packaging materials.
Campus Success Story:
Vanderbilt University: Saved over 430,000 plastic water bottles annually by transitioning to reusable alternatives and implementing eco-friendly packaging in its campus store.
What You Can Do:
• Transition to reusable containers and compostable packaging.
• Promote brands like Coca-Cola, Hydro Flask, and Stanley that align with sustainability goals.
• Educate students with campaigns encouraging reusable drinkware and sustainable habits.
Why It Matters:
Contaminated recycling and compost bins undermine sustainability efforts. Advanced waste management technologies, like AI-powered systems, can help campuses streamline waste sorting and improve diversion rates.
Oscar by IntuitiveAI:
Oscar provides real-time guidance to users on how to sort waste correctly, ensuring landfill, recycling, and compost bins are used appropriately. It also generates data insights, enabling administrators to track progress, identify problem areas, and refine strategies.
Campus Success Stories:
Texas Christian University: Partnered with PepsiCo to introduce AI-powered machines that guide users in sorting waste while tracking trends to refine initiatives.
Sacramento State University: Reduced contamination rates and improved waste diversion using built-in analytics to target problem areas.
What You Can Do:
• Install AI-powered waste bins in high-traffic areas like dining halls and student unions.
• Pair technology with educational campaigns to build a culture of waste consciousness.
• Use diversion data to celebrate milestones and refine waste management strategies.
Leading the Way in Sustainability
Colleges and universities have the unique opportunity to lead by example. By focusing on carbon footprint measurement, innovative waste management, digital course materials, and reducing single-use plastics, institutions can align operations with environmental goals while making a lasting social and academic impact. Follett is proud to partner with industry leaders like Greenplaces and Oscar by IntuitiveAI to provide campuses with the tools and expertise needed to achieve these sustainability goals effectively and meaningfully. Together, we’re building a more sustainable future for higher education.
Ready to take action? We’re here to help. Contact us today to learn how Follett can support your sustainability goals.