Why Darden?
Environmental Sustainability at Darden - About the Darden School of Business
Environmental Sustainability
At Darden, sustainability is incorporated into everything that we do — from curriculum grounded in business ethics to our faculty research and commitment to carbon-neutrality on Grounds.
Darden’s 2030 Sustainability Goals
Darden’s 2030 Sustainability Goals address "how we live" (our internal operations) and "how we learn" (our educational and research efforts around sustainability).
The goals build on Darden’s previous achievements in sustainability, including reaching carbon neutrality in 2019 through a partnership with University of Virginia and Dominion Energy on the Hollyfield Solar Plant — making Darden one of the first top business schools to reach carbon neutrality.
Following that achievement, a steering committee led an inclusive process to define new goals for sustainability by 2030. These goals are driven by the following commitments:
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Continue to be a preeminent educator and thought leader in sustainability, innovating new offerings and scholarship that lead our peers.
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Endeavor to minimize our footprint while empowering all members of our community to flourish.
Goals for 'How We Live'
Our key objectives for our internal operations by 2030 related to carbon emissions, waste and material use:
- Identify, reduce and offset GHG emissions to achieve net zero for scope 1, 2 and targeted 3
- Electrify all fossil fuel infrastructure on site at Darden, such as kitchens and hot water heaters
- Reduce water use by 30% of 2010 baseline
- Reduce waste to landfill to 30% of 2010 baseline
- Sustainably source 50% of our food
- Increase supplier diversity by increasing purchases from local and SWAM businesses
- Eliminate single use plastics such as bottled water
Goals for 'How We Learn'
Starting in 2030, we aim to achieve the following goals for curriculum development and faculty scholarship:
- Develop 100 new teaching cases and notes on sustainability topics
- Publish 100 new articles on sustainability topics
- Deliver 100 courses on sustainability topics
To learn more about Darden student offerings, please visit Sustainability Concentration: Courses, Clubs and Careers.
Research Initiatives
Coming in Early 2023 … A Sustainable Inn and Conference Center
Darden is building a new inn and conference center on the Grounds in Charlottesville that will be compliant with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification to which UVA has committed. The new Inn will meet or exceed UVA’s current green building standards. The property will feature a five-acre arboretum and botanical gardens that will connect the Darden Grounds, UVA School of Law Grounds and the Rivanna Trail ─ providing an oasis for learning.
In the environment, every victory is temporary, every defeat permanent.
