UMass Amherst's rich history is rooted in agriculture and innovation.
From our early focus on agricultural education to modern leadership in green initiatives, we've long been committed to sustainable practices. Today, UMass Amherst drives impactful change through cutting-edge research, eco-friendly campus operations, and a deep commitment to climate action.
Long at the leading edge of sustainability development, education, and research, UMass Amherst has strived to be a responsible steward of the environment, the planet, and its limited resources. Our campus was founded in 1863 as an agricultural college—environmental consciousness is part of our DNA.
In the 21st century, efforts were amplified to educate students, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the world about one of the greatest threats to society—the climate crisis.
After publishing our first Climate Action Plan in 2010, UMass Amherst quickly became a sustainability leader, receiving numerous awards and consistently achieving a STARS Gold ranking from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
The Franklin Permaculture Garden—designed to show people how food is grown and to offer students the opportunity to eat hyper-local vegetables—grew out of a 2009 class in sustainable agriculture. A few short years later, UMass Amherst won the 2012 White House Campus Champions of Change Challenge. In 2013, we became the largest institution in the nation to join with other campuses across the country to build a just and sustainable food system by signing on to the Real Food Campus Commitment.
The Franklin Permaculture Garden is a living laboratory where UMass Amherst cultivates not just food but a vision of ecological resilience.
In 2016, UMass Amherst advanced its environmental commitment with two major achievements. We launched the School of Earth and Sustainability, integrating a wide range of academic programs focused on natural and built environments. Additionally, driven by strong student advocacy, UMass Amherst became the largest university to divest from direct fossil fuel holdings, marking a powerful step toward a greener future.
Landscape Services received the 2018 Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Leading by Example (LBE) Award. For our commitment to effective urban forest management, UMass Amherst received the 2019 Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation.
A collaboration among UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell, and Salem State University to work together to decarbonize each campus has been recognized by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources with an LBE Award in 2021. The following Earth Day in 2022, UMass Amherst launched UMass Carbon Zero, an ambitious campaign that set a course toward reaching net-zero carbon emissions across our campus.
UMass Amherst’s commitment to sustainability is deep, enduring, and evolving. As we look to the future, we remain focused on bold climate action, innovative research, and empowering the next generation to lead in sustaining our planet.
Director, Clean Energy Extension; Extension Professor, Environmental Conservation
"UMass Amherst is the largest supplier of the undergraduate and graduate workforce to the commonwealth. Finding and keeping a workforce focused on sustainability issues is among the largest challenges in Massachusetts."