Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Sustainability is a core value at HWS. The Office of Sustainability engages faculty, students, staff and the Geneva community on all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. This requires a cross-disciplinary approach that works with multiple departments to generate innovative ways to make Hobart and William Smith more sustainable. We have a unique program that uses the physical campus as a laboratory to explore different strategies and that encourages students to link classroom learning with real world applications. In 2007, the Colleges were a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, committing Hobart and William Smith to climate neutrality by 2025. Climate neutrality was reached in 2023, a year ahead of schedule, making HWS one of only 11 colleges and universities nationwide to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

CAMPUS

Our campus is situated in a unique setting on the edge of a small city, a few blocks from vast agricultural lands and on the shores of one of the deepest lakes in the United States. The applied sustainability opportunities are endless and act as a microcosm of the complex issues of the 21st century.

Awards

Hobart and William Smith was ranked by The Princeton Review as one of the most environmentally responsible schools in the country. 

In 2019, Environment America found that Hobart and William Smith Colleges was a top-10 school nationwide for renewable electricity purchased per student.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges generate electricity from two solar farms – together representing one of the largest solar installations at a higher education institution in New York State – that deliver 50 percent of the Colleges' electricity. View our real-time solar generation!

Resources

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