UMass Carbon Zero

Mission

As a global leader in research, entrepreneurship, and innovation, UMass Amherst must seize our unparalleled opportunity to limit the climate crisis in our own community and throughout the world and to educate the next generation of leaders in sustainability.

UMass Champions Center Solar Roof Array

Our Goal

To limit the dangers of climate change, our campus is pursuing an ambitious goal: We seek to power the UMass Amherst campus with 100 percent renewable energy. Our pioneering work on this complex, large-scale undertaking will have ramifications far beyond campus. UMass Amherst will be a leader of carbon mitigation efforts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts while educating the next generation of leaders in sustainability. UMass Carbon Zero will serve as a model for other large research universities as they embark upon their own energy transitions.

 

UMass researchers

About UMass Amherst

  • Among the top-10 large research institutions for sustainability in the US
  • #32 among public research institutions in the US
  • Largest public research institution in New England
  • 30,000 graduate and undergraduate students; more than 13,000 students live on campus
  • 1,400 faculty; more than 400 are engaged in sustainability research across 41 departments with $79 million in sustainability research funding
  • 300 buildings encompassing 13 million square feet
  • 1,500-acre campus
  • Offers more than 500 courses that address sustainability

 

Track Our Progress

 

Solar panels on the UMass Amherst Champions Center

Past Projects

Our students, faculty, and staff have always been eco-conscious. Check out some of our successes in sustainability in the recent past.

Geothermal Well Installation

Current Projects

From solar rooftops to geothermal wells and everything in between, see how we're making our energy transition happen. 

UMass Amherst Campus

Future Projects

Learn about the essential elements of our ambitious plan to fuel campus with 100 percent renewable energy.

 

UMass Amherst: Hailed for our sustainability

  • Named a STARS Gold University for the fifth consecutive time by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE, 2020)
  • In the top 20 in Sierra Club’s “Top 20 Coolest Schools” (2021)
  • Named a Top 50 Green College by the Princeton Review (2022)

Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System - GOLD Sierra Magazine Cool Schools Top 20 The Princeton Review: Top 50 Green Schools

 

Old Chapel

As a global leader in research, entrepreneurship, and innovation, UMass Amherst must seize our unparalleled opportunity to limit the climate crisis in our own community and throughout the world, and to educate the next generation of leaders in sustainability.

Path to Carbon Zero