In this “Between 2 Mammoths” episode, Director of Sustainability Wes Dripps ’92 sits down with President Michael Elliott to discuss the College’s Climate Action Plan and how we will achieve our goal of decarbonization by 2030.
Sustainability is quintessentially a liberal arts topic as it requires interdisciplinary perspectives upon which a liberal arts education is foundationally built. As a leading liberal arts institution that prides itself on holistic, deep systems thinking, Amherst College strives to be a sustainability leader within higher education and stand as a model for other institutions.
The Office of Sustainability serves as a focal point and catalyst for awareness-building, collaboration and action on sustainability issues across campus, facilitating and coordinating sustainability efforts across the curriculum, co-curriculum, and campus operations. The office offers a series of novel sustainability education programs designed to provide faculty, staff, and students with new ways of thinking, collaborating, and problem solving and the skills and knowledge necessary to deal with the sustainability challenges of the 21st century. The office serves as an animating academic hub where professors, students, staff, and community leaders wrestle with the most complex issues associated with forging a more sustainable future.
Sustainable flourishing! We envision a world that meets the basic needs of all people within the means of the living planet.
The Office strives to promote sustainable communities that are socially just and equitable, environmentally sound and resilient, and economically viable and inclusive. We firmly believe that change towards a more sustainable future is possible when people have the vision, tools, and network to define and lead into new ways of thinking and working together, breakthrough research is applied to real-world problems, and new models, methods, and pathways for integrating sustainability into daily life, learning, and future careers are developed. We work to infuse sustainability across the curriculum, co-curriculum, and operations of the college.