Widener Dining Collaborates with Student to Reduce Plastic Bag Usage in Pride Café
A student-driven initiative is reducing plastic usage in the Pride Café by giving diners reusable bags and the option to skip plastic bags for mobile food orders.
Sustainability
At Widener, you’ll find the resources to increase your environmental awareness and stewardship both inside and outside the classroom.
Green Pride
Widener has a proud history of incorporating sustainability into our curricula, research, outreach, and business practices.
Sustainability in the Classroom
With more than 15 percent of our courses addressing sustainability and environmental issues, a Widener education allows you to increase your environmental awareness and stewardship. Our faculty instill sustainability into several academic programs.
The environmental science & sustainability major and minor addresses society's growing need for people with both a broad scientific background and an understanding of environmental relationships.
The sustainability science minor is open to students in all majors and prepares you to address some of our most pressing local, regional, and global sustainability issues.
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The sustainability management minor is offered in two formats, one for business majors and one for non-business majors. The minor teaches you to manage the dependent, complex relationships between the environment, economy, and culture.
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The environmental studies minor provides arts and sciences students with an understanding of complex environmental issues and the social, political, and cultural contexts that affect human interaction with the environment.
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The environmental engineering minor prepares engineering students to protect and restore the quality of our air, water, and land resources, and to address the environmental issues that are important to the sustainability of our infrastructure.
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Sustainability in the Community
With civic engagement and leadership as a part of our mission, you will have the unique opportunity to make a difference in the communities we serve—locally, nationally, and internationally. Some examples include:
- Environmental science students have worked with faculty to develop a model for the design, construction, and maintenance of a shade-tree inventory for the city of Chester.
- Our Languages and Cultures students have traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to partner with Zamorano University students to build a sustainable mini-farm at an orphanage.
- Faculty from environmental science and biology have traveled with students to Costa Rica and teamed up with local farmers to grow sustainable, organic coffee that is sold on our campus as WUbrew.
Sustainability on Campus
You will find that sustainability is a part of life at Widener. Our dining facilities strive to be green in all aspects, supporting sustainable, Fair Trade, and organic farms. Widener's administration considers sustainability issues in its growth, development, and operating plans. Our Green Pride initiative reduces Widener's carbon footprint by putting an emphasis on recycling and sustainability.
Many of our buildings feature environmentally friendly technology. Founders Hall, which houses the School of Nursing and the Oskin Leadership Institute, is certified “green” by the U.S. Green Building Council and holds the prestigious LEED designation. To further reduce energy consumption, Widener has installed geothermal exchange technology in several campus buildings.
Recent News
Saving the Planet: Widener Faculty and Student Research Makes an Impact
Widener student-faculty teams from across the academic disciplines are contributing to the growing body of climate and environmental research, exploring ways to effectively address the issues and push the planet toward a healthier, greener, and more sustainable future.
Community Art: Plastic Bag Mural Aims to Bridge Widener and Its Neighbors
Artist and adjunct professor Sarah Heyward launched a community art project aimed at learning about Chester residents and Widener students – while helping them more deeply connect.