Environmental Action Timeline

2025

• The What Works Now? Conference is held at the College, an homage to the 2005 What Works? Conference and co-sponsored by the Climate Action Program, the Sunday Night Environmental Group, and Environmental Studies
• Middlebury releases the Energy2028 Middway Report, showcasing progress and areas of growth within the Energy2028 climate initiative

2024

• Middlebury hosts Frank Sesno ‘77 in residency
• First year of welcoming Maine Gear Share, a free gear repair and waste reduction event, to campus

2023

• Middlebury hosts Art vs. The Apocalypse, a collaboration between the Theatre Department, the Council on the Arts, the Climate Action Capacity Project, and the Department of Biology that asked the question: how do we confront and navigate the environmental catastrophe that threatens our existence? The arts have always built awareness of the most pressing social issues and provided a forum for reflection, and inspiration for action. Where are the arts now? 

2022

• Inaugural event of the Middlebury Alums Global Sustainability Speaker Series, featuring Sandhya Subramanian Douglas ’93, P’25 and Soyibou Sylla ’20

2020

• Establishment of the Climate Action Program

2019

• Energy2026 and the divestment campaign merge to become Energy2028
• Midd ranked number 8 on Sierra Clubs “Top 20 Coolest Schools 2019”

2017

• The Sustainability Solutions Lab (SSL) is established, working on projects concerning microgrids and Energy2026
• President’s house wins award for energy efficiency
• Middlebury listed as one of Bestcolleges.com’s top 15 greenest universities
• Middlebury is a finalist for the AASHE Sustainability Award

2016

• Middlebury achieves carbon neutrality through biomass, solar, efficiency upgrades, and forest conservation
• Middlebury was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.
• Middlebury receives Second Nature award for achieving carbon neutrality

2015

• Middlebury was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.
• Middlebury received the Charles HW Foster Award for the Bread Loaf conservation.

2014

• Middlebury earned a Gold rating in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System.

2013

• First attempt at a divestment campaign pursued by students
• Middlebury was one of 22 schools named to the Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll.
• Second Nature honored Middlebury with a Climate Leadership Award.
• Middlebury received an EPA Food Recovery Challenge Achievement Award.
• Middlebury was ranked second out of 195 schools in the Food Service Organics category of the 2013 Recyclemania competition.

2012

• The 2011 Middlebury Solar Decathlon team received an honorable mention in the 2012 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.
• Middlebury was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.

2011

• Middlebury earned a Gold rating in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System.
• Middlebury was named one of Sierra Magazine’s Top 10 Cool Schools.
• In the 2011 edition of the College Sustainability Report Card, Middlebury received an A- and was recognized as an “Overall College Sustainability Leader.”
• Middlebury was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.

2010

• Middlebury was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.
• In the Way to Go! 2010 Workplace Commuter Challenge competition, Middlebury earned honorable mention in the Major Employer category.
• Middlebury received an EPA Merit Award in recognition of achievements during 2010 Recyclemania competition.
• In the 2010 edition of the College Sustainability Report Card, Middlebury received an A- and was recognized as an “Overall College Sustainability Leader.”
• As part of the 2010 Green Rating Honor Roll, Middlebury was selected as one of the top 15 green colleges by the Princeton Review.
• Middlebury was recognized by Central Vermont Public Service as one of their top 10 cow power customers.

2009

• Middlebury ranked third on Sierra’s list of Cool Schools for 2009, which scores colleges based on their commitment to sustainability.
• The Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest, designed by SAS Architects of Burlington, Vt., won first place in the Small Buildings category of the Better Buildings by Design 2009 Design Competition sponsored by Efficiency Vermont.
• Middlebury was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation in its annual Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming competition. The biomass plant along with students and staff were featured in the April 2009 Chill Out webcast.
• The Axinn Center at Starr Library was one of 12 projects recognized in the Boston Society of Architects’ 2009 Sustainable Design Awards. Awardees were praised for aesthetic achievements, for energy efficiency, thoughtful material use, systems development, and site and transportation planning. Designed by CBT architects in Boston, the Axinn Center also involved Efficiency Vermont, Otter Creek Engineering (East Middlebury), and Andropogon Associates of Philadelphia (landscape architecture).
• The Axinn Center at Starr Library received an Excellence in Architecture award from the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). This award recognizes best practices and emerging trends related to planning in higher education.
• Middlebury College was one of 15 institutions in the United States and Canada to be selected as an “Overall College Sustainability Leader” in the 2009 College Sustainability Report Card.

2008

• Middlebury was named #1 in Sierra Magazine’s 10 Coolest Schools—Our Annual Green College Guide in the September/October 2008 issue.
• The Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest earned the highest designation given by the U.S. Green Building Council—LEED Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). It is the first building in Vermont to achieve a Platinum LEED certification, and the seventh in the nation to be so designated under the LEED NC 2.2 standards.
• The Sustainable Endowments Institute 2008 Report Card ranks Middlebury as one of six overall sustainability leaders of 200 schools rated.
• The new Middlebury Master Plan, designed by Michael Dennis & Associates, received a 2008 Honor Award for Campus Planning from the Boston Society of Architects.  Sustainability is a core theme of the entire master plan.

2007

• Carbon neutrality by 2016 goal established
• The College received a National Leadership Award for Sustainability in 2007 from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education for its achievements in putting sustainability into policies and practices.

2006

• $12 million dollars of funding is dedicated for the development of biomass on campus

2005

• The Sunday Night Group (now the Sunday Night Environmental Group) holds their “What Works” Conference
• The College received the 2004–05 Vermont Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence & Pollution Prevention for 72 Hours of Light, a collaborative project between Steve Maier’s ENVS0211 class and Efficiency Vermont.
• Clean Air-Cool Planet acknowledged Middlebury College’s exemplary institutional commitment to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions with a 2005 Climate Champion Award at their biannual climate change conference in NYC in June.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy awarded Middlebury College the 2005 Energy Star CHP Award, which recognizes commercial combined heat and power (CHP) operations that reduce emissions and use at least 5 percent less fuel than state-of-the-art separate heat and power generation systems.

2004

• Efficiency Vermont honored Middlebury College with the 2004 Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award in recognition of the institution’s exemplary work to increase the adoption of energy-efficient practices in Vermont.
• First carbon reduction goal is established

2003

• Middlebury students establish the Knoll, our student-powered garden
• The College received the 2003 EPA Environmental Merit Award for its role as a catalyst for a new green-certified wood industry in Vermont and New England.
• Middlebury College won the Northeastern Loggers’ Association’s 2003 Outstanding Use of Wood Award for the use of local and Vermont-certified wood in campus construction projects and for its support of the regional forest and wood industry in Vermont.

2002

• Middlebury College received the 2002 Vermont Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence and Pollution Prevention for significantly minimizing the deconstruction waste stream.

2000

• Middlebury College becomes a signatory of the Talloires Declaration, a 10-point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations, and outreach at colleges and universities.

1965

• Middlebury College’s Environmental Studies Program is established as the first Environmental Studies program in the United States