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Giving Day 2023

Join the Virginia Tech community for Giving Day, a 24-hour celebration of the Hokie Spirit and the power of giving back. You choose where you want your gift to have an impact, and special challenges mean that your gift can go further and do more good than at any other time of the year. If you'd like to donate to Sustainability, visit https://givingday.vt.edu and look for our name under 'Additional Areas of Support' once Giving Day arrives. Giving Day starts at noon on February 15 and runs until noon on February 16.

Over the past decade, Virginia Tech has become a leader in seeking a sustainable society. The Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment, approved initially in 2009 by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, serves as the university’s guiding framework around sustainability and energy efficiency in campus operations, facilities, curriculum, and research. The most recent version of the Climate Action Commitment, published in 2020, includes 15 goals designed to help Virginia Tech achieve carbon neutrality by:

  • Changing the university’s physical infrastructure, collective and individual behaviors, and educational mission;
  • Engaging everyone in creating a culture of sustainability; and 
  • Achieving these objectives through just and equitable means. 

Virginia Tech is integrating sustainability into its curriculum through the Climate Action Living Laboratory (CALL). One opportunity of this program is integrating physical Climate Action Commitment projects into instruction and research which means students get hands-on experience and discovery. Some upcoming initiatives include:

  • Virginia Tech, in partnership with Sun Tribe Solar, is working on the installation of nearly 2 MW of solar on campus rooftops over the next year. The solar panel installation will provide students with opportunities for first-hand experience with solar power and storage data for research.
  • We are looking into ways to partner with Living Learning Communities and get more engaged on the residential side of campus.
  • We are working on creating a live dashboard of campus which would provide data to our academic partners for real-world applicability in class projects and analyses. 
  • The Office of Energy Management is working with green engineering professors and students to collect and analyze data used in the development of our GHG inventories (2021 is complete and in the design phase; 2022 is underway with measures taken to improve data quality); and
  • The Climate and Sustainability Education and Research (CSER) Subcommittee was created recently with a focus on the Climate Action Living Lab. They're currently looking into ways to use the opportunities we have here at Virginia Tech alongside our strong connections to our Campus Planning, Infrastructure, and Facilities staff to create CALL opportunities. These opportunities are in development now and will be rolled out in the coming semesters. They're also looking into ways to expand current programs beyond campus into our surrounding communities. 

Your gift will support these CALL programs and others like them.

Watercolor painting of a building with solar panel locations mapped
Rendering of Sterrett Facilities Complex Solar Installation

Students in Action
Check out some of the student opportunities offered through the Climate Action Living Lab

Three people standing in a creek with a yellow barrier College students sitting in a classroom People in safety vests touring recycling facility People sitting surrounded by plastic bags People in yellow safety vests touring recycling facility with large blocks of recycled items People sitting around a conference table People sitting around a conference table Three people standing at a podium in a large room with a screen behind them People walking through a garden with a fence on the left side People walking through a field with trees on their left and solar panels in the distance on their right People standing up sorting through plastic bags Four people standing with bikes under a tree with a bike rack on the left College students sitting at a table in a classroom talking to someone standing People sitting at large round tables in a conference room with two large screens on the back wall People standing in the woods looking at a tree People standing in the large atrium of a building People walking down stairs in a large facility People standing in the large atrium of a building Two people in the forest, once is digging with a small shovel, the other has their hands on the ground A group of people standing in a field with a large tree trunk on the left

Thank you to all of our donors for supporting our students as they learn about sustainability.

If you want to see how your gift impacts the campus, sign up for our newsletter.

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For more information, contact sustainability@vt.edu.