Please join us in giving a big CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the Sustainability Leadership Award for 2023! We are delighted to recognize these outstanding individuals and organizations and honor the many others who were nominated for the award. Read our press release for details.
University of Virginia’s Office for Sustainability Announces the
2023 Sustainability Leadership Award Winners
##PRESS RELEASE##
Charlottesville, VA – April 2, 2024
The University of Virginia’s Sustainability Leadership Awards have been selected by a seven-member selection committee facilitated by the Office for Sustainability. Eleven winners were chosen for their outstanding contribution to sustainability efforts on UVA Grounds and in the broader community during calendar year 2023. UVA will formally recognize the winners at a Sustainability Leaders Luncheon this Spring.
“Our nominees show the enormous difference that one dedicated voice can make. Their leadership comes in many forms and through many avenues, and the ripple effects are continuous and profound,” said Christie Julien, selection committee member and Senior Assistant Dean for Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Acting Global Chief Diversity Officer at UVA Darden School of Business.
Environmental sustainability as envisioned by UVA’s 2030 Sustainability Plan represents the University’s commitment to making the world a better place and being a good neighbor locally and globally, today and in the future. The Sustainability Leadership Award honors those who exhibit this outstanding dedication to advancing sustainability practices and solutions. These winners exemplify innovation and passion in work related to civic engagement, stewardship of the built and natural environment, discovery through teaching and/or research, and governance and collaboration.
Highlights from the 2023 Award Winners
- UVA students designed and planted five “forest patches” on Grounds.
- Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry collected 2.5 million pounds of food in 2023, including waste from nine area grocery stores, and redistributed it to community members in need.
- UVA’s staff member Ryan McCarthy created the FM Snack Pantry to increase support for food insecure staff members within their department of 1,000+ employees.
- UVA School of Engineering Professor Lisa Colosi Peterson developed and directed UVA’s new Decarbonization Academy in 2022 and 2023, a hands-on learning experience for students that work on projects that advance UVA’s sustainability goals.
FULL LIST OF 2023 AWARD WINNERS
Student Awards
Leah Germain, Madeline Morphis, and Olivia Vargo – These 2023 UVA Decarbonization Academy Fellows designed and planted five new “forest patches” on Grounds, organizing more than 90 students who planted 100 trees and plants.
The Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society (GBMES) – In 2023 the BME department completed the Green Lab Gold certification for 11 of their labs, more than any other department at UVA.
Garreth Bartholomew – As president of Food Assist, founder of the UVA Food Union, and in his role on the leadership team of the UVA Community Food Pantry, Bartholomew and fellow students have transported over 20,000 lbs. of would-be food waste from UVA organizations and local restaurants to those in need both on and off Grounds.
London Tuma –Tuma secured a grant from the UVA Sustainable Food Collaborative to implement improvements after recognizing accessibility issues with composting in first-year dorms. Also, she organized a public display of furniture from UVA’s ReUSE Store, amplifying awareness of sustainable furniture options.
Faculty Award
Lisa Colosi Peterson – Peterson, a civil and environmental engineering professor, Peterson helped design and lead UVA’s Decarbonization Academy in 2022 and 2023, an immersive course where students are paid to work directly on sustainability-related projects at UVA.
Staff Awards
Rebecca Duff – Duff co-led the development of the Darden School of Business’ 2030 sustainability goals, including establishing and co-chairing a new Sustainability Advisory Council. She also directed Darden’s Sustainability Research Initiative focused on business innovation and climate change.
Michael Duffy – Under the leadership of UVA’s Facilities Management fleet manager Mike Duffy 13% of the fleet has been converted to electric vehicles (EVs), earning UVA a top five spot in NAFA’s 2023 Green Fleet Awards among university fleets.
Linda Hanson – Hanson spearheaded UVA’s annual Protecting Health in a Changing Climate continuing medical education conference, first offered in 2021. The conference raises awareness among healthcare practitioners, connecting them to resources for improving patient care amidst the health impacts of climate change.
Ryan McCarthy – McCarthy has tackled food insecurity within Facilities Management while also helping to meet UVA's goal of reducing waste 70% by 2030 (from 2010 levels). She established the FM Snack Pantry, designed to bring resources to UVA Staff experiencing food insecurity.
Community Awards
Community Climate Collaborative (C3) – C3 catalyzed support (including 400 signatures) for the Woodridge Solar Project in Albemarle County, which will produce enough energy for more than 30,000 households.
Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry – Loaves and Fishes captured 2.5 million pounds of food in 2023, including waste from nine area grocery stores, which would otherwise have been destined for landfills and redistributed it to local individuals and families who are experiencing food insecurity.
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What people are saying about the 2023 Sustainability Leadership Awards
“All around Grounds and in Charlottesville/Albemarle our students, staff, faculty, and community partners are brilliantly developing and implementing solutions to the sustainability challenges society is facing. From training future clinicians on the health impacts of climate change to simultaneously reducing food waste and hunger to lowering the energy use of UVA’s laboratories, these award winners are so admirable,” noted Erika Herz, sustainability strategic planning specialist in the UVA Office for Sustainability and selection committee member.
Garreth Bartholomew, a second-year UVA student and award winner said, “I am honored to receive this award and grateful to UVA Sustainability for spotlighting the work that Food Assist and the Community Food Pantry do every day. I’m also excited to share it as part of a cohort of exceptional people who are committed to UVA’s sustainable future.”
About the UVA Sustainability Leadership Award
The Sustainability Leadership Award, established in 2017, honors those who exhibit outstanding dedication to advancing sustainability practices and solutions at the University and beyond. Winners are selected through a nomination and rigorous evaluation process. Awards were chosen in four categories: UVA student or student group; UVA faculty or department; UVA staff or department; and a community member or organization.
Winners were selected based on their project’s capacity to make progress on the University’s sustainability goals, leaders’ ability to engage collaboratively and equitably across functional areas, as well as their consistent commitment to achieving project aims and effectively communicating impact.
About the University of Virginia Office for Sustainability
The University of Virginia’s Office for Sustainability leads and collaborates on pan-University efforts to steward the built environment and natural resources, engage the University and local community in sustainability initiatives, and discover innovative, collaborative climate solutions. In 2019, UVA set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and fossil fuel-free by 2050 and launched its 2030 Sustainability Plan in 2020. For information on UVA’s sustainability goals, progress, and programs, please visit sustainability.virginia.edu.
PRESS CONTACT: Teri Strother, Associate Manager for Sustainability Communications, C: (434) 459-9936 or (434) 466-5157, E: [email protected].